snuupDoes llms.txt actually work?
Updated 27 October 2026
llms.txt is a plain text file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that lists your most important pages for AI tools. It was proposed in 2024 and nobody is required to read it. Google says its Search ignores it, and a 2026 study of 83 sites found the crawlers from OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity opening it a few times in 12 weeks. It does no harm and takes ten minutes to add. Fix what AI does read first: your robots.txt, your pages and what other sites say about you.
What llms.txt is
yoursite.com/llms.txt
# Saltmarsh Cycle Repair
> Bike repair and servicing in Dunmore. E-bikes, road and kids' bikes. Same-day puncture fixes.
## Pages
- [Services and prices](/services): what each repair costs
- [E-bike repairs](/e-bikes): brands we service
- [Contact](/contact): address, hours, booking
A title, one line on what you do, and links to the pages that matter.
llms.txt is a short text file at the top of your website. Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024 on llmstxt.org. It starts with your business name, then one line on what you do, then links to the pages that matter, each with a few words on what is there.
The idea is a map for AI tools: instead of reading your whole site, they read one file and know where to look. It is a suggestion, not a rule. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may read. llms.txt only says what is worth reading, and no AI company has to open it.
The honest answer today: there is little sign that ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity use it to pick which business to recommend. It does no harm and costs ten minutes, so it belongs at the end of your list, not the top.
Check it: open yoursite.com/llms.txt in your browser, with your own domain in place of yoursite.com. A page not found means you have none, which is normal for a small business site.
Who reads it today
Who opened llms.txt on 83 sites in 12 weeks
OpenAI's crawler
llms.txt 7 times, robots.txt 3,990 times
Anthropic's crawler
llms.txt 9 times, robots.txt 3,120 times
Perplexity's crawler
llms.txt 0 times, robots.txt 775 times
Meta's crawler
llms.txt 193 times, robots.txt 172 times
April to July 2026, from EZY Research's server logs.
Google is clear about its side. Its guide to AI features in Search says you do not need AI text files to appear in Google Search, because Google Search does not use them. It adds that keeping an llms.txt neither harms nor helps your visibility there.
The AI companies' crawlers mostly pass it by. In a 12-week study by EZY Research, from April to July 2026 on 83 sites with an llms.txt, OpenAI's crawler opened it 7 times and robots.txt 3,990 times. Perplexity's crawler opened it 0 times and robots.txt 775 times. Meta's crawler was the one exception: 193 llms.txt fetches against 172 of robots.txt.
You will find llms.txt files on the developer docs of Anthropic, OpenAI and Perplexity. Those help coding tools read long technical manuals. A bike shop's buyers are asking a different kind of question.
Check it: if your host shows raw server logs, search them for llms.txt and for robots.txt over the last month. Compare how often each one was opened, and by whom.
What AI reads instead
ChatGPTWho can fix an e-bike in Dunmore this week?
Gearline Bikes services most e-bike brands and reviewers say it is quick. Spokesmith Cycles is often recommended for motor and battery problems.
When a buyer asks who can fix their e-bike, AI answers from pages it trusts: local lists, review sites, forum threads and the websites of the businesses it names. The answer above comes from three sites, and Saltmarsh is on none of them. No file on Saltmarsh's own website changes that.
Your own site still counts, through the usual door. AI crawlers read robots.txt first and then your pages. If robots.txt shuts them out, an llms.txt behind it is never seen. Check that your website lets ChatGPT in before anything else.
Check it: ask ChatGPT the question your buyers ask, with your town in it and your name left out. Open the sources under the answer and write down which sites it read. Those are the sites to be on.
When adding one is worth it
Add one when the rest of your list is done, or when it is a single setting. On WordPress, Yoast SEO makes the file for you for free: you switch it on in its site features settings. Other builders may add it through an app, or you can write it by hand.
Keep it true. A file that lists last year's prices or a page you deleted is worse than no file: whoever does read it reads it wrong.
- 1Write your business name as the first line, starting with #.
- 2Under it, one line starting with > that says what you do and where, in the words a buyer would use.
- 3Add a line ## Pages, then one link per page that matters: services, prices, the area you cover, contact.
- 4Save it as llms.txt at the top of your site, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt.
Fix the things AI reads first
Saltmarsh Cycle Repair's list, in order
- 1. robots.txt lets AI crawlers in✓
- 2. Homepage says e-bike repair in Dunmore✕
- 3. Listed on the best bike shops in Dunmore page✕
- 4. Reviews that mention e-bikes✕
- 5. llms.txt✕
The llms.txt goes last. It takes ten minutes once the rest is true.
snuup asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your buyers ask and shows you every answer: whether you are named, who is named instead and which problems keep you out. A website that turns AI crawlers away shows up as one of those problems, with the lines we found.
The free check does not count a missing llms.txt as a problem, because there is little sign AI reads it. On the paid plan your fixes include an llms.txt written from your own pages, and the WordPress plugin adds it for you. It goes on the list after the fixes that change what AI says about you.
Questions
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may and may not read, and the big AI crawlers check it constantly. llms.txt only suggests which pages are worth reading. A Disallow line in robots.txt can hide your site from ChatGPT; a missing llms.txt hides nothing.
Does Google use llms.txt?
Not in Search. Google's guide to its AI features says Google Search does not use AI text files and that keeping an llms.txt neither harms nor helps your visibility there. That covers AI Overviews and AI Mode too, since they are part of Search.
Can an llms.txt file hurt my website?
Not your Google ranking, by Google's own guide. The one risk is a file that goes stale: old prices, deleted pages or services you no longer offer. If you add one, change it whenever those pages change.
How do I add llms.txt on WordPress?
The free Yoast SEO plugin makes one for you: switch it on in its site features settings and it lists your key pages. Open yoursite.com/llms.txt afterwards and read it, so you know what it says about you.
Does the snuup check look for llms.txt?
The free check does not flag a missing llms.txt, because there is little sign AI reads it. It does check whether your website turns AI crawlers away, and it asks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity your buyers' questions, so you see where you are named and what keeps you out.
Will snuup write my llms.txt?
Yes, on the paid plan. Your fixes include an llms.txt written from your own pages, and on WordPress the snuup plugin adds it with one click. It comes after the fixes that change what AI tells your buyers.
Keep reading
Does your websiteblock ChatGPT?
One robots.txt line can hide your whole site from ChatGPT. Here is how to check yours in one minute and what to change if it is blocked.
Updated 24 July 2026
Which sites doesAI actually trust?
AI leans on a short list of sites in every market: review platforms, the directories buyers use, a few industry lists. Here is how to find yours.
Updated 27 July 2026