Guides · Updated 2026-09-28

Do you need llms.txt? What it does and does not do

llms.txt is a small text file at the root of a site that gives AI tools a plain summary and a list of key pages. It is easy to add. It is also often sold as a way to rank in AI answers, which it is not.

What Google says

Google has said that no part of Google Search reads llms.txt, and in June 2026 its Search Central documentation spelled out that files like it neither help nor harm visibility in Google Search, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.

What about ChatGPT, Perplexity and the others?

None of the big AI answer engines has said it uses llms.txt to choose what to cite, and studies by SEO tool companies have found no measurable effect on citations. What decides whether they can cite you is simpler: whether robots.txt lets their search crawlers in, and whether your page answers the question clearly.

Where it does help

AI coding assistants and agents do fetch llms.txt, especially for software documentation, APIs and developer tools. If you run one of those, a good llms.txt saves them from guessing.

Should a small business add one?

If it takes you five minutes, fine, it cannot hurt. But do these first, because they decide whether AI answers can use you at all:

1. Make sure robots.txt allows the AI search crawlers (see which bots to allow).
2. Make sure no firewall setting turns those crawlers away.
3. Put a direct answer near the top of your key pages: what you do, where, for whom, prices.

A simple llms.txt

# Acme Plumbing
> Same-day plumbing repairs in Austin, Texas. Licensed, 7 days a week.

## Key pages
- [Services and prices](https://acme.com/services): what we fix and what it costs
- [Service area](https://acme.com/areas): neighborhoods we cover
- [Contact](https://acme.com/contact): phone, hours, booking