diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index e6b7439b42..b28c7a5440 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -112,8 +112,9 @@ trigger:
   rules:
     # If the MR is assigned to the Merge bot, trigger the pipeline automatically
     - if: '$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_ASSIGNEES == "gstreamer-merge-bot"'
-    # Require explicit action to trigger tests post merge
-    - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "gstreamer" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $GST_UPSTREAM_BRANCH'
+    # Require explicit action to trigger tests post merge, but we want to
+    # automatically trigger the integratation stage
+    - if: '$CI_PROJECT_NAMESPACE == "gstreamer" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $GST_UPSTREAM_BRANCH && $CI_JOB_STAGE != "integrate"'
       when: 'manual'
     # When the assignee isn't the merge bot, require an explicit action to trigger the pipeline
     # to avoid wasting CI resources