llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file that points AI tools to your most useful pages. It is cheap to add, but as far as has been publicly confirmed, major search engines do not rely on it and there is no reliable evidence it improves AI citations. Add it if it costs you little, but put your effort into clear answers, accurate schema and a crawlable site.
llms.txt: what it is and whether it matters
What llms.txt is
It is a proposed convention: a Markdown file placed at the root of your site (yourdomain.com/llms.txt) that lists your key pages with short descriptions, so a language model can find the important content quickly. It is not an official web standard, and it is different from robots.txt, which tells crawlers what they may access.
What the evidence says
Adoption by AI companies is unclear, and search engines have not confirmed that they use the file to decide what to show or cite. That means you should not expect it to move rankings or citations. Treat any claim that it is a big lever with caution, and treat this as a fast-changing area where the position may change.
When it is still worth adding
- You can create it in minutes and keep it updated without effort.
- You have documentation or a large site where a clear index of key pages is useful to people and tools.
- You are happy to treat it as a small extra, not a strategy.
What to do first instead
- Make sure AI and search crawlers are not blocked in robots.txt, and that key pages are indexable.
- Open every important page with a direct, quotable answer.
- Add accurate schema markup that matches the page.
- Keep your business details consistent everywhere.
- Earn credible mentions from other sources.
These are covered in detail in how to get cited by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews and the complete guide to technical SEO, AEO and GEO.
Does Google use llms.txt?
Google has not confirmed that it uses llms.txt to rank or cite pages. Google's own guidance focuses on crawlable, helpful content, and structured data that matches the page.
Can llms.txt hurt my site?
Not if it only lists public pages you are happy for people to see. It is just a text file, so keep it accurate and do not include private or outdated links.
Should I block AI crawlers instead?
That is a business decision. Blocking AI crawlers may reduce the chance of being cited by them, while allowing them lets your content be used. Decide based on how you want to be found, and use robots.txt to enforce it.