BlogGEO
Does llms.txt help SEO?
A short file that maps your site for AI tools. Useful sometimes. A ranking factor, no.
Short answer
llms.txt is a Markdown file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that gives AI tools a short map of your site's most useful pages. Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI proposed it in September 2024. It does not help SEO: Google has said it doesn't use it, and no major AI search product has confirmed relying on it. It's cheap and harmless, so add one if you like, but don't expect it to change your visibility.
What is llms.txt?
The proposal describes a Markdown file at the root of your domain with:
- a title, the name of the site or project;
- a one-paragraph summary in a blockquote;
- optional notes;
- sections of links to key pages, each with a one-line description.
The idea is that a language model with limited room can read one short file instead of crawling and cleaning up dozens of HTML pages. It was designed with documentation in mind, where developers want AI coding tools to find the right page fast. The proposal also suggests offering a Markdown copy of each page at the same address plus .md.
Does Google use llms.txt?
No. Google's John Mueller has compared it to the old keywords meta tag, and Google's Gary Illyes has said Google doesn't support it. Google's own guidance on AI features says you don't need AI text files or special markup to appear in them.
Do ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity use it?
None of the major AI search products has said it uses llms.txt to choose or rank sources. Site owners who have checked their server logs report that AI crawlers rarely request the file.
Where it does get read is in developer tools. Some AI coding assistants fetch llms.txt files when pointed at a library's docs, and several AI companies, Anthropic among them, publish llms.txt files for their own developer documentation.
Should you add an llms.txt file?
Add one if:
- you run documentation, an API or a product that developers use with AI coding tools;
- you'd like a tidy, plain-text summary of your site anyway;
- it takes minutes, not days.
Skip it, or leave it for later, if it would take time from things that do matter: pages search engines can crawl, content that answers real questions, and mentions on sites AI tools trust.
We keep one at superfindable.com/llms.txt. It's generated from our page list every time the site builds, so it never goes stale, and it costs us nothing. We don't count it as a visibility tactic.
What should go in it?
# Example Co
> Example Co makes payroll software for small agencies in India.
## Product
- [Features](https://example.com/features/): What the product does.
- [Pricing](https://example.com/pricing/): Plans and prices.
## Docs
- [Getting started](https://example.com/docs/start/): Set up in ten minutes.
## Optional
- [Blog](https://example.com/blog/): Guides and articles.Keep the descriptions factual and keep the file in step with your site. A stale llms.txt is worse than none, because it repeats old prices and services to anything that reads it.
What matters more than llms.txt?
- Letting search and AI crawlers in: Googlebot, Bingbot, OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot.
- Serving your content as HTML, not only through JavaScript.
- Clear, specific pages that answer real questions.
- Mentions of your brand on independent sites in your field.
That's the substance of generative engine optimisation.
Keep reading
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may access. llms.txt suggests what's worth reading. It can't allow or block anything.
What is llms-full.txt?
A variation some sites publish: one file with the full text of their docs, so an AI tool can load everything at once. It isn't part of the core proposal.
Can llms.txt hurt my SEO?
No. Google doesn't use it for Search. Just keep it accurate, because people and tools that do read it will take it at its word.
Where do I put llms.txt?
At the root of your domain, so it loads at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt as plain text.