Source: Search Engine Roundtable by barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz). Read the original article
TL;DR Summary of Should You Noindex Your LLMs.txt File? Insights from Google’s John Mueller
Google’s John Mueller suggests that adding a noindex directive to your
llms.txt file can be beneficial to prevent it from appearing in search results. The file is not considered duplicate content by Google, but indexing it might confuse users who stumble upon it. Currently, no AI systems reportedly use llms.txt, yet many sites are adopting it for transparency and control over language model usage.Optimixed’s Overview: Why Noindexing LLMs.txt Files Could Improve User Experience and SEO Clarity
Understanding the Role of LLMs.txt
The llms.txt file is a relatively new standard that websites can implement to communicate policies or permissions regarding the use of their content by large language models (LLMs). While it serves an important purpose for AI governance, it is not designed as a conventional webpage and therefore can cause confusion if indexed by search engines.
Google’s Perspective on Indexing LLMs.txt
- Not Duplicate Content: Google’s John Mueller clarified that
llms.txtdoes not constitute duplicate content, as it is distinct from HTML pages. - Potential User Confusion: If indexed, users might find the file unintuitive or confusing, as it is not intended for direct browsing.
- No Current AI Usage: Mueller noted that no AI systems currently utilize
llms.txt, but the file is gaining adoption among websites.
SEO Best Practices
Given these insights, webmasters should consider adding a noindex meta tag or HTTP header for the llms.txt file. This helps maintain clean search results, improves user experience, and avoids unnecessary exposure of technical files that are not meant for end users.
