- [ Home ](/) / - Does Google use llms.txt? # Does Google use llms.txt? Short version: no. Google has said so publicly, more than once. Here is what it actually said, why the confusion exists, and where llms.txt does help. Last updated: August 12, 2026 ## The short answer **No, Google does not use llms.txt.** It is not a ranking signal for Google Search, and Google has said its AI features (AI Overviews and AI Mode) do not rely on it either. This is one of the few questions in this space with a clear, on-the-record answer from the company itself. If your only reason for adding llms.txt is to rank better on Google, you can stop here: it will not do that. If you care about how AI assistants and developer tools read your site, llms.txt is still relevant, and we cover that below. ## What Google actually said The position has been stated by Google staff on several occasions: - In mid-2025, Gary Illyes (Google Search Relations) said Google does not support llms.txt and is not planning to. - John Mueller (Google Search Relations) compared the idea to the old keywords meta tag, a signal Google abandoned long ago because it was self-declared and easily gamed. - When people noticed that some Google-owned properties served an llms.txt file, Mueller clarified that the Search team neither uses nor endorses it. The file appeared because an internal content system added support for it, and some teams simply did not remove it. - Google's 2026 guidance for site owners on its AI features includes a mythbusting section that lists llms.txt by name as a tactic that does not help. ℹ Why this is consistent with how Google works Google builds its index from its own crawling and ranking systems. It treats robots.txt as a crawl policy and sitemap.xml as crawl discovery, neither of which is a ranking lever. A site-provided curation file like llms.txt sits even further from Google's pipeline: it is not part of it at all. ## Why people think Google uses it Two things fuel the confusion: - **Big sites publish llms.txt.** Anthropic, Cloudflare, Stripe and others ship one. Seeing well-run sites adopt it makes people assume Google must reward it. They publish it for AI assistants and developer tooling, not for Google rankings. - **Google-owned pages briefly had one.** An internal CMS added the file on some Google properties. That looked like a tacit endorsement until Google clarified it was not. ## AI Overviews and AI Mode A common follow-up: even if classic Search ignores llms.txt, do Google's generative answers use it? Google's answer is still no. Its public guidance is that ranking in AI Overviews comes from the same fundamentals as ranking in Search: useful content, crawlable pages, and clear structure. There is no separate llms.txt channel feeding those features. ## What to do instead (for Google) If your goal is visibility in Google Search and AI Overviews, invest where Google actually looks: - Original, helpful content that answers real search intent. - Clean technical SEO: crawlability, Core Web Vitals, correct canonicals and hreflang. - Structured data (schema.org) so Google can parse your entities and content. - Authoritative backlinks from relevant sites. llms.txt is a complement to a serious content strategy, never a substitute for it. See our deeper analysis in [llms.txt and SEO](/llms-txt-seo/). ## Is llms.txt still worth publishing? For many sites, yes, just not for Google. The file is a maintained resource map for workflows that support it. A compatible tool or a user-directed workflow can use an explicit file URL, but that is not evidence that every AI product automatically discovers it. If your audience asks technical questions about what you do, a concise, factual llms.txt can still be useful as a companion resource. We weigh the evidence in [does llms.txt work?](/does-llms-txt-work/). Related, on the same theme: [does ChatGPT use llms.txt?](/does-chatgpt-use-llms-txt/) ## FAQ **Does Google use llms.txt for ranking?** No. Google staff have stated it is not a ranking signal and there are no plans to support it. **Do Google AI Overviews use llms.txt?** No. Google says AI features rely on the same systems as Search, and lists llms.txt as a tactic that does not help. **Should I delete my llms.txt because Google ignores it?** No. Keep it for LLM and developer-tooling uses; just do not expect a Google ranking effect. ## Next steps - [Does llms.txt work?](/does-llms-txt-work/) The honest, goal-by-goal answer. - [How to create an llms.txt file](/how-to-create/) for your stack. - [Generator](/generator/): build one from your sitemap in seconds. - [FAQ](/faq/): twenty more straight answers. ## Sources - [ Google Search Central: optimizing for generative AI features ](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide) - [ llmstxt.org, official specification ](https://llmstxt.org/) - [ Search Engine Land: Google says normal SEO works for AI Overviews, llms.txt will not be used ](https://searchengineland.com/google-says-normal-seo-works-for-ranking-in-ai-overviews-and-llms-txt-wont-be-used-459422) - [ Search Engine Roundtable: Google search team does not endorse llms.txt ](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-does-not-endorse-llms-txt-40789.html) On this page - [ The short answer ](#short-answer) - [ What Google actually said ](#what-google-said) - [ Why people think Google uses it ](#why-confused) - [ AI Overviews and AI Mode ](#ai-overviews) - [ What to do instead ](#what-to-do) - [ Is llms.txt still worth publishing? ](#still-worth-it) - [ FAQ ](#faq)