Does Google Support llms.txt in 2026?
Many SEO guides still tell site owners to add the llms.txt file to appear in AI answers. Google's May 2026 AI optimization guide says otherwise: Google Search does not use llms.txt, so the file has no effect on whether a
Many SEO guides still tell site owners to add the llms.txt file to appear in AI answers. Google's May 2026 AI optimization guide says otherwise: Google Search does not use llms.txt, so the file has no effect on whether a page shows up in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
What matters from Google's position:
- llms.txt does not decide visibility in Google AI features.
- A page that Googlebot can crawl and index is eligible for AI Overviews, the same as for classic results.
- The file will not hurt a site, but it will not improve rankings either.
If you want the full breakdown, read Does Google support llms.txt?. It covers what does affect AI visibility in Google: indexation, E-E-A-T, structured data and how the text is organized.
Still, llms.txt can be useful for tools outside Google, such as Perplexity in some setups. Treat it as optional, not as an SEO priority.
Full article: https://yositeup.com/blog/llms-txt-not-needed-google-ai-search-2026
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