A base station may configure a set of autonomous uplink (AUL) resources for a specific base station receive beam, or the AUL resources may be configured for specific user equipment (UEs) or user groups. Additionally, the AUL resources may be configured to include a sensing portion, a data portion, or both. As an example, a UE may receive an AUL configuration that includes an indication of a set of AUL resources that are specific to a base station receive beam. The UE may then determine that the set of AUL resources is available and perform an AUL transmission of uplink data using the set of beam-specific AUL resources. Additionally or alternatively, the UE may perform the AUL transmission with respective portions that include a sensing signal and the uplink data. The base station may use the sensing signal to determine a receive beam on which to receive the uplink data.