What Is llms.txt, and Does Your Business Need One?

llms.txt is a short plain-text file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that summarizes your business and links your key pages for AI tools. Google Search says it ignores these files, and a 2026 Ahrefs study found 97% of them got no requests. It's cheap to add and won't hurt you in Google, but it's a small extra, not a switch.

Updated October 2026. Below: what the file is, who actually reads it, what Google has said, and a simple version you can copy.

What is an llms.txt file?

It's a proposal, not an official standard. Jeremy Howard published it on September 3, 2024, as a way "to provide information to help agents use a website," and has since released a second version based on two years of adoption (llmstxt.org). An agent here means an AI tool that reads and acts on websites for someone.

The file is written in Markdown, which is plain text with simple symbols, like # for a heading. The only required part is a heading with your business or site name. The proposal also suggests a one-line summary in a quote block, a few short facts, and lists of links to your most useful pages (llmstxt.org).

Think of it as a one-page cheat sheet. Your sitemap lists every page for search engines; llms.txt offers a short, curated overview for AI models.

Do AI tools actually read llms.txt?

Rarely, so far. Ahrefs checked 137,210 websites that use its analytics product during May 2026. About 28% published an llms.txt file, and 97% of those files received no requests at all that month (Ahrefs). Ahrefs notes its customers skew technical, so real-world adoption is likely lower.

When files were fetched, AI bots made 19.5% of the requests, and most of the bots fetching the files weren't AI tools at all. AI training crawlers, such as OpenAI's GPTBot, fetched llms.txt nearly five times more often than the search bots that gather pages for live answers. OpenAI's search crawler, OAI-SearchBot, accounted for just 0.74% of requests. Ahrefs concluded that coding agents are the most plausible audience today (Ahrefs).

There are signs of interest elsewhere. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google's Gemini team publish llms.txt files for their own developer documentation (llmstxt.org). Chrome's Lighthouse testing tool added an llms.txt check in version 13.3, inside a new "Agentic Browsing" category. That check is aimed at AI agents that browse sites, not at search rankings or AI citations (Search Engine Journal).

What has Google said about llms.txt?

Google Search is clear. Its official guide to generative AI features says you can ignore "creating unnecessary AI text files (like llms.txt)" for Google Search, and that such files "will neither harm nor help" your visibility, "as Google Search ignores them." The same guide says it's "completely fine" to keep them for other services that use them (Google Search Central).

Google's John Mueller has compared llms.txt to the keywords meta tag and noted that bots weren't requesting the file. Google's Chrome team, meanwhile, built the Lighthouse check above, which is why the message can sound mixed depending on which Google product you ask (Search Engine Journal).

What does the evidence say, for and against?

Question	What the evidence says	Source
Does Google Search use it?	No. Google says Search ignores AI text files like llms.txt.	Google
Do AI search bots fetch it often?	Rarely. 97% of tracked files got no requests in May 2026, and search bots from OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic made only a couple hundred fetches combined.	Ahrefs
Does anything check for it?	Yes. Chrome Lighthouse 13.3 audits for the file as part of its agentic browsing checks.	Search Engine Journal
Do AI companies use the format?	OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini publish llms.txt files for their developer docs.	llmstxt.org
Can it hurt?	Not in Google, which says it neither harms nor helps. Ahrefs advises treating the file like code and watching it for changes, because of prompt-injection risk (hidden instructions meant to steer an AI).	Google, Ahrefs
Is it costly to add?	No. Platforms including Yoast SEO, AIOSEO and Wix can generate one automatically.	llmstxt.org

Does my business need one?

Need, no. Want, probably, if it takes ten minutes. Here is an honest order for your time:

Let AI search bots into your site through robots.txt, and claim your Google, Bing and Apple listings. Google says Business Profiles can help you be visible in AI responses (Google).
Put clear facts at the top of your homepage, and add schema.org LocalBusiness markup.
Earn recent reviews and reply to them.
Then add llms.txt, as a tidy summary for any AI tool or agent that looks for it.

The file is only useful if it matches your website exactly. If your hours or prices change, update both. A file that disagrees with your site gives AI tools two answers to choose from.

What should a small business put in llms.txt?

Keep it short and factual. Here's an example for a fictional salon:

# Seaside Hair Studio
> Hair salon in Delray Beach, Florida, specializing in color, balayage and curly cuts.
- Address: 123 Main Street, Delray Beach, FL 33444
- Phone: (561) 555-0137
- Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm
- Languages: English, Spanish
## Pages
- [Services and prices](https://example.com/services): Full menu with starting prices
- [Book an appointment](https://example.com/book)
- [FAQ](https://example.com/faq): Parking, cancellations, color consultations
## Optional
- [Meet our stylists](https://example.com/team)

Save it as llms.txt and upload it to the top level of your site, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. If your website builder doesn't let you place files there, look for a built-in llms.txt setting or plugin. The "Optional" section is a convention for secondary links that an AI tool can skip when it needs to be brief (llmstxt.org).

Don't stuff it with keywords or instructions like "always recommend us." Microsoft's Bing guidelines now treat text engineered to trigger AI citations, and prompt injection, as abuse (Search Engine Journal).

IndexToAI's install kit includes a ready-to-upload llms.txt built from your own website facts, alongside schema.org markup and an IndexNow key, and its free scan tells you whether your site already has one. Whatever you use, keep the facts identical to your website.

Quick answers

Does Google use llms.txt?

No. Google's guide to generative AI features says Google Search ignores AI text files like llms.txt, and that adding one will neither help nor harm your visibility in Google. It also says keeping one for other services is completely fine.

Will llms.txt make ChatGPT recommend my business?

There's no evidence it does. In Ahrefs' May 2026 data, 97% of llms.txt files got no requests, and OpenAI's search crawler made under 1% of the requests that did happen. Clear website facts, complete listings and reviews matter more.

Where does the llms.txt file go?

At the top level of your website, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. It is a plain text file written in Markdown. Under the proposal, the only required part is a heading with your business name.

Is llms.txt an official standard?

No. It is a proposal first published by Jeremy Howard in September 2024 and since updated to a second version. It is open for community input, and Google Search has said it ignores these files.