Matt Turley, Continuum. Updated November 5, 2026.
What the file is, what we have and have not measured, and a sensible way to treat it.
We have no measurement showing it does. An llms.txt file is a plain-text summary of your site for AI tools, and it is cheap to add, but none of our studies isolate its effect on who gets named. In our research the answers cited directories, review sites, lists and company pages, so spend effort there first.
An llms.txt file is a plain-text page at the root of your site that summarizes what you do and links to your most useful pages, written for AI tools to read. Continuum publishes one at llms.txt and a longer one at llms-full.txt, so we have no objection to it.
We have not run a test that adds the file and watches the answers, so we cannot say it changes who is named. What we have measured is where the answers look. Across 17 Dallas trades, 27.9% of citations went to directories and review sites. See the research.
We also cannot say which AI tools read the file, and we will not claim they do. Check each vendor’s documentation, which is where such a commitment would be stated.
Enter your business and the free check asks four AI engines the questions your customers ask, then shows whether you were named. No signup. It is a first look; the paid reports repeat each question several times.
Run the free AI visibility check. Or book a call and talk it through.