diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-docs.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-docs.yml
index 3c527e9..ff2d85e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-docs.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-docs.yml
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   build:
+    # only build and deploy docs if the actor is not dependabot
+    if: ${{ github.actor != 'dependabot[bot]' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
     steps:
       - name: Checkout