diff --git a/.github/OWNERS b/.github/OWNERS
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3b39553052c02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/OWNERS
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Like CODEOWNERS, but manually implemented with .github/workflows/codeowners.yml
+# Allows requesting reviews from people without write access.
+# And prevents mass pings when the base branch is wrong.
+# CODEOWNERS is intended to be migrated to this file soon.