Does your site have an llms.txt file?
It reports whether the saved site probe found an llms.txt file it could read.
What Check Engine measures
A nonempty saved file ends the check without a finding. The test also stops when the file was skipped under robots rules. A refused response is reported as unreadable rather than absent. Only the remaining missing-file case produces the notice about no llms.txt. It does not test the document's headings, links or usefulness as a content summary.
This check uses the site-level file probe. It does not search article bodies for the filename or require the crawler to discover the file through an internal link.
How to read the result
This is a notice about an optional file. A refusal leaves the file's presence unknown. Review that response before deciding whether to create or change the file.
Why it matters
The saved probe can answer a narrow file-presence question. It cannot establish that an AI service reads the file or that publishing one changes how the service answers questions about your site.
How to fix it
If you want to publish the file, write a short account of the site with working links to its main content. Check that the root address serves the text and that your policy allows the intended request. When the finding says unreadable, investigate the refusal first instead of creating a second copy of a file that may already exist.
What we found in field audits
Problems in AI search visibility were found on 14 of the 14 sites we audited. These are area totals. Read the field-audit method.
Method note
backend/seo_engine/checks/ai_visibility.py, llms_txt, revision 0bb8e8d3.
Common questions
Does this check grade the contents of the AI summary file?
No. It checks the saved file probe, leaving headings, links and usefulness outside its scope.
Does a refused request for the AI summary file mean it is missing?
No. A refused response is unreadable, leaving presence uncertain. Check the refusal before creating another file.
Is publishing an AI summary file required to clear a serious error?
The result concerns an optional file and is only a notice. It does not predict changes to AI answers.