There is a lot of discussion around “AI SEO,” llms.txt, special AI files, and new schema markup supposedly needed to appear in AI-generated search results.
But Google’s current guidance is much simpler.
Google says you do not need llms.txt, special machine-readable AI files, or special schema markup to appear in Google Search’s generative AI experiences such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google Search ignores llms.txt for ranking and visibility purposes. Google for Developers
That does not mean technical SEO is becoming less important. In fact, Google says the opposite: the same SEO fundamentals still apply because its generative AI features rely on content from the Search index and existing ranking systems. Google for Developers
For developers and website owners, the practical focus should remain on making important pages publicly accessible, crawlable, indexable, technically sound, and genuinely useful to users.
Content quality also matters. Instead of publishing generic summaries that repeat what is already available everywhere else, Google recommends creating material with original experience, useful explanations, unique viewpoints, and supporting images or video where appropriate.
Google for Developers
Structured data still has value for normal supported Google Search features and rich results, but there is no separate “AI schema” you need to add just to qualify for generative search.
Google for Developers
The other important point is that eligibility is not a guarantee. A page can follow Google’s technical requirements and best practices and still not necessarily be crawled, indexed, ranked, or selected for an AI-generated response.
Google for Developers
So if you are working on AI-search visibility, the better question is not:
“Which AI file am I missing?”
It is:
“Is my website technically accessible, genuinely useful, original, and easy for both people and search engines to understand?”
That is a much stronger long-term strategy than chasing unsupported AI SEO shortcuts.
What are you seeing in your own projects are clients already asking for llms.txt or special “AI SEO” implementations?
AISEO #GoogleSearch #AIOverviews #GEO #TechnicalSEO #SEO #ContentStrategy #WebDevelopment #SearchEngineOptimization #DigitalMarketing #GenerativeAI
