diff --git a/inc/class-archiveless.php b/inc/class-archiveless.php
index b29bd54b..c8ce6e30 100644
--- a/inc/class-archiveless.php
+++ b/inc/class-archiveless.php
@@ -348,6 +348,10 @@ public function save_post( $post_id ): void {
 		if ( isset( $_POST[ self::$meta_key ] ) ) {
 			// phpcs:ignore WordPress.Security.NonceVerification.Missing
 			update_post_meta( $post_id, self::$meta_key, intval( $_POST[ self::$meta_key ] ) );
+		} elseif ( static::$status === get_post_status( $post_id ) ) {
+			// If the post status is `archiveless`, ensure the post's
+			// archiveless meta is set to true.
+			update_post_meta( $post_id, self::$meta_key, 1 );
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/tests/test-general.php b/tests/test-general.php
index 7c6ce59f..db1a6298 100644
--- a/tests/test-general.php
+++ b/tests/test-general.php
@@ -322,6 +322,23 @@ public function test_post_meta_hooks() {
 		$this->assertEquals( 'archiveless', get_post_status( $post_id ) );
 	}
 
+	public function test_post_meta_applied_when_manually_created() {
+		$post_id = static::factory()->post->create();
+
+		$this->assertEmpty( get_post_meta( $post_id, 'archiveless', true ) );
+
+		wp_update_post(
+			[
+				'ID'          => $post_id,
+				'post_status' => 'archiveless',
+			],
+			true,
+		);
+
+		$this->assertEquals( 'archiveless', get_post_status( $post_id ) );
+		$this->assertEquals( '1', get_post_meta( $post_id, 'archiveless', true ) );
+	}
+
 	public function test_post_preview() {
 		$post_id = static::factory()->post->create(
 			[