Introduction
In 2025, visibility is not just SEO: it's also AEO/GEO (appearing cited, linked or recommended by AIs). llms.txt emerges as an "LLM-ready" index to guide what an AI can cite. It doesn't replace robots.txt; it complements it.
For whom: SEO/Growth and legal teams that need to balance AI exposure with usage control and attribution.
TL;DR
llms.txt≠robots.txt: it's a map of citable URLs for LLMs; access policy remains inrobots.txt.- Disparate adoption: some bots read it, others don't. Treat it as "curated sitemap", not enforcement.
- Control with
robots.txtper agent (GPTBot, Google-Extended, Perplexity, etc.). - Measure what matters: cited appearances, Attribution Rate and SGV (Share of Generative Visibility).
Quick answer
Publish /llms.txt with your citable pages (FAQ/Prices/Product/Docs), define robots.txt per agent, limit snippets when applicable and measure SGV + Attribution to evaluate impact.
FAQ
No. It's an LLM-ready map; access policy remains in robots.txt.
It helps guide what to cite and reduce friction for RAG/assistants; doesn't guarantee universal compliance.
Publish minimum llms.txt, adjust robots.txt per agent and measure SGV/Attribution.
See also
- 2025 Fundamentals (SEO, AEO and GEO)
- Engine optimization 2025 (playbook)
- AI Overviews without losing conversions
- GA4 — AI Channel (Channel Groups)
- Entity Graph + LLMs (AEO/GEO)
- How to rank your business in ChatGPT
Updated: 2025-10-21
