diff --git a/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter.go b/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter.go
index e16515768..b14b01b31 100644
--- a/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter.go
+++ b/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter.go
@@ -91,8 +91,15 @@ func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) runPromotionStep(
 			fmt.Errorf("could not discover kustomization file: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Discover image origins and collect target images.
-	targetImages, err := k.buildTargetImages(ctx, stepCtx, cfg.Images)
+	var targetImages map[string]kustypes.Image
+	switch {
+	case len(cfg.Images) > 0:
+		// Discover image origins and collect target images.
+		targetImages, err = k.buildTargetImagesFromConfig(ctx, stepCtx, cfg.Images)
+	default:
+		// Attempt to automatically set target images based on the Freight references.
+		targetImages, err = k.buildTargetImagesAutomatically(stepCtx)
+	}
 	if err != nil {
 		return PromotionStepResult{Status: kargoapi.PromotionPhaseErrored}, err
 	}
@@ -111,7 +118,7 @@ func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) runPromotionStep(
 	return result, nil
 }
 
-func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) buildTargetImages(
+func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) buildTargetImagesFromConfig(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	stepCtx *PromotionStepContext,
 	images []KustomizeSetImageConfigImage,
@@ -159,6 +166,33 @@ func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) buildTargetImages(
 	return targetImages, nil
 }
 
+func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) buildTargetImagesAutomatically(
+	stepCtx *PromotionStepContext,
+) (map[string]kustypes.Image, error) {
+	var images = make(map[string]kustypes.Image)
+	for _, freightRef := range stepCtx.Freight.References() {
+		if len(freightRef.Images) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for _, img := range freightRef.Images {
+			if _, ok := images[img.RepoURL]; ok {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+					"manual configuration required due to ambiguous result: found multiple images for repository %q",
+					img.RepoURL,
+				)
+			}
+
+			images[img.RepoURL] = kustypes.Image{
+				Name:   img.RepoURL,
+				NewTag: img.Tag,
+				Digest: img.Digest,
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return images, nil
+}
+
 func (k *kustomizeImageSetter) generateCommitMessage(path string, images map[string]kustypes.Image) string {
 	if len(images) == 0 {
 		return ""
diff --git a/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter_test.go b/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter_test.go
index 3f0b7fd56..584fdf431 100644
--- a/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter_test.go
+++ b/internal/directives/kustomize_image_setter_test.go
@@ -40,22 +40,6 @@ func Test_kustomizeImageSetter_validate(t *testing.T) {
 				"path: String length must be greater than or equal to 1",
 			},
 		},
-		{
-			name:   "images is null",
-			config: Config{},
-			expectedProblems: []string{
-				"(root): images is required",
-			},
-		},
-		{
-			name: "images is empty",
-			config: Config{
-				"images": []Config{},
-			},
-			expectedProblems: []string{
-				"images: Array must have at least 1 items",
-			},
-		},
 		{
 			name: "image not specified",
 			config: Config{
@@ -259,6 +243,51 @@ kind: Kustomization
 				assert.Contains(t, string(b), "newTag: 1.21.0")
 			},
 		},
+		{
+			name: "automatically sets image",
+			setupFiles: func(t *testing.T) string {
+				tempDir := t.TempDir()
+				kustomizationContent := `apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
+kind: Kustomization
+`
+				err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tempDir, "kustomization.yaml"), []byte(kustomizationContent), 0o600)
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				return tempDir
+			},
+			cfg: KustomizeSetImageConfig{
+				Path:   ".",
+				Images: nil, // Automatically set all images
+			},
+			setupStepCtx: func(_ *testing.T, workDir string) *PromotionStepContext {
+				return &PromotionStepContext{
+					WorkDir: workDir,
+					Freight: kargoapi.FreightCollection{
+						Freight: map[string]kargoapi.FreightReference{
+							"Warehouse/warehouse1": {
+								Images: []kargoapi.Image{{RepoURL: "nginx", Digest: "sha256:123"}},
+							},
+							"Warehouse/warehouse2": {
+								Images: []kargoapi.Image{{RepoURL: "redis", Tag: "6.2.5"}},
+							},
+						},
+					},
+				}
+			},
+			assertions: func(t *testing.T, workDir string, result PromotionStepResult, err error) {
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.Equal(t, PromotionStepResult{
+					Status: kargoapi.PromotionPhaseSucceeded,
+					Output: map[string]any{
+						"commitMessage": "Updated . to use new images\n\n- nginx@sha256:123\n- redis:6.2.5",
+					},
+				}, result)
+
+				b, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(workDir, "kustomization.yaml"))
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.Contains(t, string(b), "newTag: 6.2.5")
+				assert.Contains(t, string(b), "digest: sha256:123")
+			},
+		},
 		{
 			name: "Kustomization file not found",
 			setupFiles: func(t *testing.T) string {
@@ -555,7 +584,77 @@ func Test_kustomizeImageSetter_buildTargetImages(t *testing.T) {
 				},
 			}
 
-			result, err := runner.buildTargetImages(context.Background(), stepCtx, tt.images)
+			result, err := runner.buildTargetImagesFromConfig(context.Background(), stepCtx, tt.images)
+			tt.assertions(t, result, err)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func Test_kustomizeImageSetter_buildTargetImagesAutomatically(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name              string
+		freightReferences map[string]kargoapi.FreightReference
+		assertions        func(*testing.T, map[string]kustypes.Image, error)
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "successfully builds target images",
+			freightReferences: map[string]kargoapi.FreightReference{
+				"Warehouse/warehouse1": {
+					Images: []kargoapi.Image{
+						{RepoURL: "nginx", Tag: "1.21.0", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+					},
+				},
+				"Warehouse/warehouse2": {
+					Images: []kargoapi.Image{
+						{RepoURL: "redis", Tag: "6.2.5"},
+					},
+				},
+				"Warehouse/warehouse3": {
+					Images: []kargoapi.Image{
+						{RepoURL: "postgres", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			assertions: func(t *testing.T, result map[string]kustypes.Image, err error) {
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.Equal(t, map[string]kustypes.Image{
+					"nginx":    {Name: "nginx", NewTag: "1.21.0", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+					"redis":    {Name: "redis", NewTag: "6.2.5"},
+					"postgres": {Name: "postgres", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+				}, result)
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "error on ambiguous image match",
+			freightReferences: map[string]kargoapi.FreightReference{
+				"Warehouse/warehouse1": {
+					Images: []kargoapi.Image{
+						{RepoURL: "nginx", Tag: "1.21.0", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+					},
+				},
+				"Warehouse/warehouse2": {
+					Images: []kargoapi.Image{
+						{RepoURL: "nginx", Tag: "1.21.0", Digest: "sha256:abcdef1234567890"},
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			assertions: func(t *testing.T, _ map[string]kustypes.Image, err error) {
+				require.ErrorContains(t, err, "manual configuration required due to ambiguous result")
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	runner := &kustomizeImageSetter{}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			stepCtx := &PromotionStepContext{
+				Freight: kargoapi.FreightCollection{
+					Freight: tt.freightReferences,
+				},
+			}
+
+			result, err := runner.buildTargetImagesAutomatically(stepCtx)
 			tt.assertions(t, result, err)
 		})
 	}