Google says LLMS.txt files won’t harm or help your search rankings

Google clarified its stance on LLMS.txt files this week, stating that their presence on a website will neither harm nor benefit search rankings within Google Search. In an update to its guide for optimizing content for AI Search, Google explicitly noted that Google Search itself does not utilize LLMS.txt files, nor does it use AI text files, markup, or Markdown files for ranking purposes. The company emphasized that while Google Search may discover, crawl, and index various file types beyond HTML, this does not imply any special treatment for these files. Google also added a new advisory, assuring website owners that creating and maintaining LLMS.txt files for other services or systems is acceptable and will not negatively impact their visibility or rankings on Google Search, as these files are disregarded by the search engine. This clarification addresses widespread confusion regarding Google Search's handling of LLMS.txt and similar AI-related files, confirming they are not used in a manner that would influence search performance.