llms.txt in 2027: does Google use it?

No. Google Search does not use llms.txt. Google's own guide says you don't need AI text files to appear in Google Search, and that "Google Search ignores them". Chrome's Lighthouse does check for the file, which is why the question keeps coming up.

So llms.txt has no effect on your Google rankings. It costs little to add, and some AI tools may read it. Here is what it is, what one looks like, and how to decide.

What llms.txt is

llms.txt is a plain-text file at the root of a site, at an address like yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It is written in Markdown and gives a language model a short summary of the site, with links to the pages that matter. It is a proposed format. Chrome describes its own check as "based on proposed standards", and Google Search does not use it.

It does a different job from robots.txt. robots.txt tells crawlers where they may go. llms.txt offers a summary to whatever tool chooses to read it. It does not allow or block anything.

A short example

Here is the start of Kashif's own file, at kashifaudit.com/llms.txt, shortened:

# Kashif (كاشف)

> Kashif checks what search engines and AI assistants can read on a business website and gives a score from 0 to 100 with a list of what to fix first.

## Contact

Email: hello@kashifaudit.com

## Pages

- Pricing: https://kashifaudit.com/pricing

- FAQ: https://kashifaudit.com/faq

A title, one short summary, then sections of links. For a café it could be the name, one line on what you serve and where, and links to the menu, opening hours and contact page. Keep every line true and the same as your pages say.

Does Google use it?

For Search, no. Google's guide "Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search" says you don't need machine-readable files, AI text files, markup or Markdown to appear in Google Search, and that Google Search ignores them. Google's page on AI features says the same for AI Overviews and AI Mode: no extra requirements and no new files. The guide calls optimizing for AI search "still SEO".

Adding llms.txt will not move you up in Google, in AI Overviews or in AI Mode.

Then why does Chrome check for it?

Chrome's Lighthouse has an experimental category called Agentic Browsing, about whether a page is ready for AI agents. One of its checks is whether llms.txt exists. The others look at WebMCP tools, names and labels on page elements, and layout shift. It gives a pass ratio, not a score out of 100, and needs Chrome 150 or later.

Search Engine Journal reported on this split on 20 May 2026, under the headline "Google's llms.txt Guidance Depends On Which Product You Ask". The same report says John Mueller compared llms.txt to the keywords meta tag, and that Gary Illyes confirmed at a Search Central Live Deep Dive event in Asia Pacific that Google was not pursuing it. That is a news site reporting what was said. Google's own pages, linked below, are the firmer source.

Should you add one?

Our view: add it if you like, and expect little.

• Cost: one short text file you can write by hand.
• Google rankings: no effect. Google Search ignores it.
• Other AI tools: some may read it. Nothing obliges them to, and we have no figures on how many do.
• Lighthouse: it passes one item in an experimental category.

The pages the file points to matter more than the file. If your hours, prices and contact details are not written in the page text, a summary file will not fix that. Start with the eight basics for AI crawlers and agents.

And keep it honest. A file that tells AI tools something different from what visitors see, or text written to steer what an assistant says, is a trick we will not recommend.

How to check yours

Open yourdomain.com/llms.txt in a browser. If you see your text, the file is there. Then check that the links in it open and that the facts match your pages.

Kashif looks for llms.txt in its Readable by AI area, next to whether robots.txt lets AI crawlers in and whether your facts are in the page text. Lighthouse's Agentic Browsing category is a free alternative for the file check. Kashif reads your site and does not ask any assistant about your business, so it cannot tell you whether a tool used your file.

Run the free scan to see the file check and the content checks together, or read how we score.

Sources

• Google: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search (seen 11 November 2026)
• Google Search Central: AI features (AI Overviews and AI Mode) (seen 11 November 2026)
• Chrome: Lighthouse Agentic Browsing scoring (seen 11 November 2026)
• Search Engine Journal, "Google's llms.txt Guidance Depends On Which Product You Ask", Matt G. Southern, 20 May 2026 (a news report, seen 11 November 2026)