diff --git a/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/CHANGELOG.md b/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/CHANGELOG.md
index 7b727772f55d..c6eb7533d4f1 100644
--- a/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 # Release History
 
+## 1.16.8 (Unreleased)
+
+### Features Added
+
+### Breaking Changes
+
+### Bugs Fixed
+
+### Other Changes
+
 ## 1.16.7 (2026-05-07)
 
 ### Features Added
diff --git a/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/azure/ai/evaluation/_version.py b/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/azure/ai/evaluation/_version.py
index 7f7138b3715f..f8c5d12c048c 100644
--- a/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/azure/ai/evaluation/_version.py
+++ b/sdk/evaluation/azure-ai-evaluation/azure/ai/evaluation/_version.py
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 # ---------------------------------------------------------
 # represents upcoming version
 
-VERSION = "1.16.7"
+VERSION = "1.16.8"