Is LLMS.txt Really helfpul for Visibility in LLMs?
No, LLMs.txt is not helpful for LLM SEO Visibility Absolutely not.
WARNING: No Schema was harmed in the making of this blog post
The “LLMs.txt Myth”: Separating Hype from Reality
The term “LLMs.txt myth” refers to a collection of misconceptions and debates surrounding a proposed new web standard, llms.txt. This text file, placed in the root directory of a website, is intended to guide Large Language Models (LLMs) on how to process and interact with the site’s content. However, its effectiveness, adoption, and overall impact are subjects of ongoing discussion and, at times, misinformation. It is joined by another myth that schema some how helps visibility in LLMs.
At its core, the llms.txt file aims to provide a set of instructions for LLMs, similar to how robots.txt offers directives to web crawlers. The goal is to give website owners more control over how their content is used in the age of generative AI. This can include specifying which parts of a site an LLM should or should not access, or providing a more structured and LLM-friendly version of the content.
The “myth” aspect arises from several key areas of misunderstanding and debate:
Myth 1: llms.txt is a universally adopted and enforced standard.
Reality: Unlike the well-established robots.txt, llms.txt is a proposed standard and its adoption by LLM developers is entirely voluntary. While some evidence suggests that certain models, such as those from Anthropic, are being guided by these files, there is no universal commitment from all major LLM providers to honor the directives within llms.txt. Skepticism remains high in some circles, with Google’s John Mueller having commented on the lack of widespread use by AI services.
Myth 2: llms.txt can completely block AI from using your content.
Reality: An llms.txt file is a set of instructions, not a technical barrier. While a well-behaved LLM might respect a “disallow” directive, there is no guarantee that all models will. It is not a foolproof method for preventing a site’s content from being ingested or used by an AI.
Myth 3: Implementing llms.txt will directly boost your SEO rankings.
Reality: The llms.txt file is designed to communicate with Large Language Models, not traditional search engine crawlers like Googlebot. Therefore, its presence or content does not directly influence a website’s ranking in traditional search engine results pages (SERPs). The benefit is more about influencing how your content is represented in AI-generated answers and summaries.
