Does llms.txt help my business show up in ChatGPT?

What is llms.txt, in plain English?

A text file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that summarizes your site for AI tools (more on where ChatGPT, Claude and Grok get local business info). It's a proposal, not a standard. Its author, Jeremy Howard, describes it as "a proposal to standardise on using an /llms.txt file to provide information to help agents use a website."

The proposal itself says these files "are used most heavily for software documentation, where coding agents follow them," and that the information is used "on demand, when an agent needs information about a topic while assisting a user." It isn't pitched as a way to rank in search. Most pages selling it to local businesses leave that part out.

What have ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Google said?

Only Google has taken a documented position, and it's no for Google Search. Here's each vendor, from its own pages:

Checked 10/20/2026. Details change; check the source.

Google hasn't said anything about the Gemini app reading llms.txt either.

Why do AI companies publish llms.txt files if they don't read yours?

Because publishing one and reading yours are different things. OpenAI and xAI publish llms.txt files for their own developer documentation, so coding tools can find their docs. You can see them at developers.openai.com/llms.txt and docs.x.ai/llms.txt.

That's not evidence their assistants read a contractor's llms.txt before recommending a roofer (more on how to get ChatGPT to recommend your business). Google's John Mueller, as reported by Search Engine Journal, put it this way: "AFAIK none of the AI services have said they're using LLMs.TXT," and compared it to the old keywords meta tag.

Does having one hurt?

Not in Google Search, per Google. It says the file "will neither harm nor help" there. If Wix or Yoast SEO made one for you automatically, which llmstxt.org says both can do, leave it alone.

For the record, 3foldlabs.com has one too. It's generated from the same content as the pages, and I treat it as a convenience, not a ranking signal.

What actually gets a business into ChatGPT and AI answers?

The things each company documents:

• Let the search crawlers in. Allow OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User, Googlebot and Bingbot in robots.txt and at your host or CDN. xAI doesn't document a crawler for Grok. OpenAI also publishes IP ranges to allow.
• Get indexed. Google requires pages to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet.
• Keep listings accurate. Your Google Business Profile, and Bing Places, which Bing says keeps your details "eligible for inclusion in AI-generated responses."
• Write plain-text pages. One per service, with your towns, phone, and license number in text.

Websites set up for search and AI crawlers: Websites. Search and AI visibility work that's documented to matter.

Should you pay someone to make an llms.txt file?

No. I build websites and could sell an llms.txt add-on. I'm telling you not to buy one, because no assistant has documented reading it to pick businesses. If a vendor's checklist says it's required, ask them to show you where OpenAI or Google says so (more on what an AI visibility audit checks).

How 3Fold Labs helps

I work on the documented basics, not llms.txt add-ons: crawler access, plain-text pages, and accurate business details across your site and listings. That's what SEO, AEO and GEO have in common (SEO vs AEO vs GEO). It also takes time to show up, and how long until AI mentions your business explains why.

Here's my Getting found on Google and in AI answers.

Related reading

• What is an AI-visibility audit, and what should it check?
• How long does it take for AI assistants to start mentioning a business?
• How do I get ChatGPT to recommend my contracting business?
• Getting found on Google and in AI answers

FAQ

Is llms.txt a ranking factor?

Not in Google Search, per Google. No other assistant has documented using it to rank or recommend businesses.

What's the difference between llms.txt and robots.txt?

robots.txt tells crawlers what they may and may not fetch, and OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Bing all document following it. llms.txt is a proposed summary file that none of them document reading on your site.

Will this change?

It might. If a major assistant documents using llms.txt, this page should be updated. Server-log studies showing crawler requests for llms.txt circulate, but I haven't verified them.

My builder made one automatically. Should I delete it?

No need. It's harmless, per Google.