llms.txt: Secret to Ranking on AI or Just Another Hype?

TL;DR

• What it is: llms.txt is a file that tells AI which pages, topics, and sources are authoritative for your brand.
• Purpose: Believed to help Large Language Models cite your brand correctly in AI-generated answers, though debatable.
• Current status: Expert opinions differ in its benefits. Not fully adopted by all AI platforms yet, but early use gives a visibility advantage.
• Best practices: Combine with AI-friendly content, trusted citations, prompt monitoring, and sentiment management.
• Why it matters: Understanding AI visibility’s technical concepts like llms.txt will help you make timely and smart decisions.

Imagine you’re planning your next vacation. You ask your AI assistant, “Where should I stay in Vietnam?” Within seconds, an answer pops up. But which brands are being recommended? Which listings capture your attention? For global companies, being the first brand mentioned is a Generative Engine Optimization strategy and right now, it’s believed that llms.txt is one factor that helps brands.

Some call it the “golden ticket” to AI visibility. Others dismiss it as another passing SEO hype, just a 404 on Google, and some claim it’s just a trend that will eventually become obsolete. Here’s all you need to know about llms.txt;

What Is llms.txt?

Think of llms.txt as a file designed to give AI systems more context about your brand. While sitemaps help search engines discover and index your web pages, llms.txt aims to provide guidance to large language models on which pages are authoritative and which topics your brand is associated with.

For example, if we look at Airbnb hypothetically, it isn’t just about vacation rentals, it’s also about experiences: local stays, adventure trips, eco-friendly escapes, and curated long-term accommodations. Structuring this kind of information in an llms.txt could theoretically help AI models reference the brand accurately for queries like “best family-friendly stays in Bali” or “top eco-conscious travel experiences.”

Why do some experts believe llms.txt standard is pointless?

Many SEO and AI experts argue that llms.txt is premature, mainly because no major AI model or search engine currently uses it for data ingestion or ranking.

In June 2025, Google’s John Mueller said that no AI system currently uses llms.txt, and Rankability found only a 0.3% adoption rate studying 1000 websites. Unlike robots.txt, llms.txt isn’t officially recognized by W3C or search protocols, meaning every implementation is guesswork for now. And there's no measurable proof that adding llms.txt improves visibility in AI-generated results.

But over the past few months websites have started enabling llms.txt in their web pages to get them ranked and appear in AI answers. Search Engine Land highlights it as a proposed standard for AI website content writing.

Why is llms.txt drawing attention in the AI SEO space?

Some platforms, like Yoast, have started highlighting llms.txt standard as a way for brands to provide structured context to AI systems, though not mandatory. Here’s why experts discuss its potential relevance:

a. AI Needs Context, Not Just Content

Unlike traditional search engines, Large Language Models (LLMs) don’t crawl the web in the same way. They rely on structured signals and trusted sources to generate accurate responses. A properly formatted llms.txt could help AI better understand your brand’s official pages, key topics, and relevant URLs, reducing the risk of misrepresentation or third-party citations.

B. Brand Authority Across AI Platforms

While traditional SEO often emphasizes backlinks and domain authority, llms.txt focuses on giving AI a clearer picture of your brand context. For example, if a user asks, “What’s the best five-star hotel in KL?” structured data could help ensure that authoritative sources are surfaced correctly.

c. Future-Proofing for GEO

Just as early adoption of schema markup helped brands appear in featured snippets, llms.txt is being explored as a potential tool for guiding AI visibility. Gartner projects that by 2026, up to 25% of web searches may occur directly through generative AI interfaces. Structured guidance could become increasingly relevant as these platforms evolve.

Note: The use and impact of llms.txt is still emerging. Not all AI systems currently recognize it, and its long-term role in AI SEO remains under observation.

How to implement llms.txt in 5 Steps

If you’d like to enable llms.txt standard on your website, here’s how you can do it in simple steps. 

Step 1: Open a Text Editor

Use Notepad, VS Code, or any plain-text tool for this. 

Step 2: Add Key Brand Info

Include your brand name, description, official URLs, and relevant topics. For this example, we take the renowned global hospitality platform Airbnb.

txt. 

Brand: Airbnb
Description: Trusted platform for booking unique accommodations and curated local experiences worldwide.

Official_Sources:
	- https://www.airbnb.com/about  
    - https://www.airbnb.com/safety    

Preferred_Topics:  
	- Adventure travel  
    - Local stays  
    - Cultural experiences  
    - Eco-friendly tourism

License: All rights reserved by Airbnb

Note: This is provided as an illustrative example, we haven’t confirmed whether Airbnb currently has an llms.txt implemented. 

Step 3: Upload to Your Domain Root

Accessible publicly:

https://www.airbnb.com/llms.txt

Step 4: Validate (optional)

As an optional step, you can use platforms like llms-txt.io to ensure readability and proper structure.

Step 5: Monitor Visibility

Track your brand mentions, sentiment, and prompt coverage with tools like BrandRadar.

How to measure impact?

You don’t need to have llms.txt enabled to rank on AI. LLMs recommend many websites that haven’t enabled it. Even if you don’t enable llms.txt standards, full-funnel GEO tools like BrandRadar helps you discover, monitor and make strategic business decisions with AI SEO visibility data. 

You can start to monitor GEO data, from share-of-voice to citation sources, easily. 

Here’s a practical Example of how LLMs grasp your brand’s knowledge:

Imagine a SaaS brand implementing llms.txt. They list their official product page, LinkedIn, and relevant topics like “supply chain management system” and “ERP software”

Weeks later, queries like “Best tools for supply chain ERP” begin returning accurate mentions of their brand, pulled directly from their validated sources, not competitor blogs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Generative Engine Optimization

• Overstuffing keywords - clarity matters more than density. While keywords and phrases are required to pick up context for Google, AI already understands your content and it picks up context based on how relevant it is for a query it processes.
  
• Ignoring citation links - official sources must be listed, such as websites, LinkedIn pages and product pages, but it doesn’t stop there. AI trusts information from public sources more.
  
• Forgetting to update regularly - Updated content is preferred by both Google and LLMs. Brands that don’t renew information, get overtaken by newer brands that provide fresh, relevant information for users.
  
• Hiding llms.txt behind redirects or login screens - Your llms.txt file needs to be publicly accessible, just like robots.txt. If AI crawlers can’t reach it because it’s behind a redirect, a login, or a content gate, it defeats the entire purpose.
  

How to Integrate llms.txt standard Into Your GEO Strategy

Llms.txt standard is not mandatory. If at all, it’s only a tiny fraction of the larger Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) ecosystem. To truly boost your AI visibility, your strategy should include:

• AI-Friendly Content - Create content that’s clear, factual, and answer-first. AI models prioritize structured, concise responses, so use headings, bullet points, and definitions that help LLMs understand context quickly.
• Trusted Sources -  LLMs rely heavily on high-authority sources like news outlets, review platforms, industry profiles, and verified listings. Make sure your brand is mentioned consistently across these, and that links point back to your official domain.
• Prompt Monitoring - Track which queries and prompts your brand shows up across platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. This helps you identify which topics to strengthen, and where competitors are gaining visibility.
• Sentiment Management - AI models learn tone. If the majority of your mentions are neutral or negative, they can influence how your brand is framed in future AI answers. BrandRadar uses AI sentiment tracking tools to monitor perception trends, competitors and respond with PR or content that reinforces your brand voice.

The brands that invest now control how AI presents their story, shaping visibility before competitors catch up.

Conclusion

So will llms.txt be another fleeting SEO standard or will it be a fundamental GEO step for crawlers? Today llms.txt may help AI know who you are, what you offer, and why you matter, but real visibility takes more than a file. Brands need structured content, credible citations, and continuous monitoring to stay relevant in AI search.

At BrandRadar, we help businesses access measurable visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, and beyond, because in the new era of search, the real question isn’t whether users can find you, but whether AI remembers you. Sign up and try BrandRadar.ai!