llms.txt

Google's guide to generative AI features in Search says plainly that Google Search does not use llms.txt or other AI text files, and that creating one will neither help nor hurt your visibility in Search. Anyone selling an llms.txt file as a way to rank in Google or appear in AI Overviews is selling something Google has said it ignores.

It still has a use for browser agents. Google's Lighthouse audit tool, in version 13.3, added an Agentic Browsing category to its default checks in May 2026, and its llms.txt audit describes the file as a machine-readable summary for language models and AI agents. The audit only flags a server error when the file is fetched; a missing file is marked not applicable. For a manufacturer it is a small, optional file, not a route to better rankings.