diff --git a/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test-aws.yaml b/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test-aws.yaml
index 0cd5ffdd6a3..21fd9ed9130 100644
--- a/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test-aws.yaml
+++ b/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test-aws.yaml
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ admin:
   email: test@coreos.com
   password: asd123
 aws:
+  ec2AMIOverride: ami-0af8953af3ec06b7c
   region: us-east-1
   sshKey: tectonic
   vpcCIDRBlock: 10.0.0.0/16
diff --git a/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test.yaml b/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test.yaml
index 0ec4099a156..e8784ac3f2c 100644
--- a/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test.yaml
+++ b/installer/pkg/config-generator/fixtures/test.yaml
@@ -7,3 +7,5 @@ master:
 nodePools:
   - name: master
     count: 3
+aws:
+  ec2AMIOverride: ami-0af8953af3ec06b7c
diff --git a/installer/pkg/config-generator/generator.go b/installer/pkg/config-generator/generator.go
index aba44ae7532..68e9278437b 100644
--- a/installer/pkg/config-generator/generator.go
+++ b/installer/pkg/config-generator/generator.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package configgenerator
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"encoding/hex"
@@ -119,7 +120,7 @@ func (c *ConfigGenerator) maoConfig(clusterDir string) (*maoOperatorConfig, erro
 		if c.AWS.EC2AMIOverride != "" {
 			ami = c.AWS.EC2AMIOverride
 		} else {
-			ami, err = rhcos.AMI(rhcos.DefaultChannel, c.Region)
+			ami, err = rhcos.AMI(context.TODO(), rhcos.DefaultChannel, c.Region)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to lookup RHCOS AMI: %v", err)
 			}
diff --git a/installer/pkg/workflow/fixtures/aws.basic.yaml b/installer/pkg/workflow/fixtures/aws.basic.yaml
index 9cfb628ad02..a2f2ca7f46d 100644
--- a/installer/pkg/workflow/fixtures/aws.basic.yaml
+++ b/installer/pkg/workflow/fixtures/aws.basic.yaml
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ admin:
   email: fake-email@example.com
   password: fake-password
 aws:
+  ec2AMIOverride: ami-0af8953af3ec06b7c
   master:
     ec2Type: m4.large
     rootVolume:
diff --git a/pkg/asset/manifests/machine-api-operator.go b/pkg/asset/manifests/machine-api-operator.go
index a1f61ee14f9..7ec5ca1f009 100644
--- a/pkg/asset/manifests/machine-api-operator.go
+++ b/pkg/asset/manifests/machine-api-operator.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package manifests
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"path/filepath"
 
@@ -111,7 +112,7 @@ func (mao *machineAPIOperator) maoConfig(dependencies map[asset.Asset]*asset.Sta
 	if mao.installConfig.Platform.AWS != nil {
 		var ami string
 
-		ami, err := rhcos.AMI(DefaultChannel, mao.installConfig.Platform.AWS.Region)
+		ami, err := rhcos.AMI(context.TODO(), DefaultChannel, mao.installConfig.Platform.AWS.Region)
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to lookup RHCOS AMI: %v", err)
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/rhcos/ami.go b/pkg/rhcos/ami.go
index c5612fbf249..ba382769d60 100644
--- a/pkg/rhcos/ami.go
+++ b/pkg/rhcos/ami.go
@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
 package rhcos
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/session"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/ec2"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -10,14 +16,72 @@ const (
 )
 
 // AMI calculates a Red Hat CoreOS AMI.
-func AMI(channel, region string) (ami string, err error) {
+func AMI(ctx context.Context, channel, region string) (ami string, err error) {
 	if channel != DefaultChannel {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("channel %q is not yet supported", channel)
 	}
 
-	if region != "us-east-1" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("region %q is not yet supported", region)
+	ssn := session.Must(session.NewSessionWithOptions(session.Options{
+		SharedConfigState: session.SharedConfigEnable,
+		Config: aws.Config{
+			Region: aws.String(region),
+		},
+	}))
+
+	svc := ec2.New(ssn)
+
+	result, err := svc.DescribeImagesWithContext(ctx, &ec2.DescribeImagesInput{
+		Filters: []*ec2.Filter{
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("name"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"rhcos*"}),
+			},
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("architecture"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"x86_64"}),
+			},
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("virtualization-type"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"hvm"}),
+			},
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("image-type"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"machine"}),
+			},
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("owner-id"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"531415883065"}),
+			},
+			{
+				Name:   aws.String("state"),
+				Values: aws.StringSlice([]string{"available"}),
+			},
+		},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	var image *ec2.Image
+	var created time.Time
+	for _, nextImage := range result.Images {
+		if nextImage.ImageId == nil || nextImage.CreationDate == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		nextCreated, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, *nextImage.CreationDate)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+
+		if image == nil || nextCreated.After(created) {
+			image = nextImage
+			created = nextCreated
+		}
+	}
+
+	if image == nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("no RHCOS AMIs found in %s", region)
 	}
 
-	return "ami-0af8953af3ec06b7c", nil
+	return *image.ImageId, nil
 }
diff --git a/pkg/types/config/parser.go b/pkg/types/config/parser.go
index 09f286a7f3f..d2b92acfcfd 100644
--- a/pkg/types/config/parser.go
+++ b/pkg/types/config/parser.go
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 package config
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"time"
 
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
 
@@ -32,7 +34,10 @@ func ParseConfig(data []byte) (*Cluster, error) {
 	}
 
 	if cluster.EC2AMIOverride == "" {
-		ami, err := rhcos.AMI(rhcos.DefaultChannel, cluster.AWS.Region)
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.TODO(), 30*time.Second)
+		defer cancel()
+
+		ami, err := rhcos.AMI(ctx, rhcos.DefaultChannel, cluster.AWS.Region)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to determine default AMI: %v", err)
 		}