diff --git a/.github/workflows/copilot-review-on-comment.yml b/.github/workflows/copilot-review-on-comment.yml
index 3294a8e..3505cf4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/copilot-review-on-comment.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/copilot-review-on-comment.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,14 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   assign-copilot:
-    if: github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' && github.event.action == 'opened'
+    # Skip bot-authored PRs (dependabot etc.) here -- tg-autopilot itself is
+    # a User, not a Bot, so this doesn't affect its own PRs. Draft status is
+    # checked live inside the step below instead of trusting this event's
+    # own payload.
+    if: |
+      github.event_name == 'pull_request_target' &&
+      github.event.action == 'opened' &&
+      github.event.pull_request.user.type != 'Bot'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       # Poll rather than check-once -- Copilot can take over a minute to
@@ -37,9 +44,30 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
 
+          # Draft status re-checked live via a plain API call, not the
+          # "opened" event's own payload, which can be stale. Retried briefly
+          # in case of a short read delay right after PR creation.
+          IS_DRAFT="false"
+          for attempt in 1 2 3; do
+            IS_DRAFT=$(curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR" | grep -oE '"draft":\s*(true|false)' | grep -oE '(true|false)')
+            [ "$IS_DRAFT" = "true" ] && break
+            sleep 4
+          done
+          if [ "$IS_DRAFT" = "true" ]; then
+            echo "PR is a draft -- skipping Copilot review request."
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          # curl, not `gh api`, which can serve a cached GET right after our
+          # own mutation and falsely report "not present yet".
           copilot_present() {
-            gh api "repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/requested_reviewers" --jq '.users[].login' | grep -qx 'copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]' && return 0
-            gh api "repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/reviews" --jq '.[].user.login' | grep -qx 'copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]' && return 0
+            curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/requested_reviewers" \
+              | grep -qE '"login":\s*"copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]"' && return 0
+            curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/reviews" \
+              | grep -qE '"login":\s*"copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]"' && return 0
             return 1
           }
 
@@ -111,9 +139,15 @@ jobs:
           PR="${{ github.event.issue.number }}"
           REPO="${{ github.repository }}"
 
+          # curl, not `gh api`, which can serve a cached GET right after our
+          # own mutation and falsely report "not present yet".
           copilot_present() {
-            gh api "repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/requested_reviewers" --jq '.users[].login' | grep -qx 'copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]' && return 0
-            gh api "repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/reviews" --jq '.[].user.login' | grep -qx 'copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]' && return 0
+            curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/requested_reviewers" \
+              | grep -qE '"login":\s*"copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]"' && return 0
+            curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
+              "https://api.github.com/repos/$REPO/pulls/$PR/reviews" \
+              | grep -qE '"login":\s*"copilot-pull-request-reviewer\[bot\]"' && return 0
             return 1
           }