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llms.txt
llms.txt is an unofficial plain-text file at a site's root meant to describe it to AI crawlers. There is little evidence AI systems actually use it.
What it is
llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at the root of a website (for example, yourdomain.com/llms.txt) that describes the site to AI and LLM-based crawlers. It typically includes a short description of the site, its purpose, and links to the most important pages or content.
The convention is modelled loosely on robots.txt, which tells search crawlers what they may access. Where robots.txt controls access, llms.txt provides context: it helps a language model understand what your site is about before it reads the full content.
Does it actually do anything
Honestly: there is little evidence that it does. llms.txt is an unofficial convention, not a standard, and no major AI company has confirmed it uses the file to rank or cite content. Google says outright that you should not create one for its AI features — AI Overviews and AI Mode read from the normal search index. Whether any other answer engine meaningfully relies on it is unproven.
It is cheap to publish and does no harm, but it is not a shortcut to AI visibility, and anyone selling it as one is overpromising. What actually decides whether AI can read and cite you is the fundamentals: crawlable, server-rendered HTML, clear structure, and genuinely useful content. We lay out the evidence in does llms.txt actually do anything.
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