Free llms.txt Checker — Does Your Website Have a Valid llms.txt?

llms.txt is an emerging standard file placed at the root of a website (e.g., yoursite.com/llms.txt) that provides guidance to large language models about how to use your website's content. Similar to robots.txt but designed for AI systems, llms.txt can specify whether AI engines may use your content for training, citation, and summarisation — and can provide structured context about your site's content organisation.

llms.txt matters for AI visibility because it provides explicit permission and guidance signals that AI engines can use when deciding whether to cite or reference your website. Sites with a valid llms.txt demonstrate AI-readiness and explicit citation permission, which correlates with higher trust scores in AI engine evaluation. It is an early-mover signal that distinguishes AI-optimised sites from those that have not considered AI crawler governance.

Create a plain text file named llms.txt and place it at the root of your website (accessible at yoursite.com/llms.txt). The file should specify your site name and description, list your key pages with descriptions in markdown link format, and optionally include an llms-full.txt with complete site content. The llms.txt standard is defined at llmstxt.org and provides a structured template to follow.

Yes — VisibilityPulse checks for the presence and validity of your llms.txt file as part of its free 8-signal AI visibility audit. It verifies that the file exists, is accessible, is correctly structured, and contains the recommended content sections. The llms.txt check is one of eight signals scored in your overall AI visibility rating.

llms.txt is not currently a hard requirement for AI citations — AI engines will still crawl and potentially cite sites without one. However, having a valid llms.txt is a positive trust signal that improves your AI visibility score. As the standard matures, it is likely to become more significant. Early adopters gain an advantage in AI engine trust scoring.