Do you need an llms.txt?

This article explains what an llms.txt is, how KI Score checks the file as part of KI-Readiness, and which checks carry more weight for your website.

The short answer

You don't need an llms.txt for KI Score. KI-Readiness does check the file, but treats it as a bonus signal worth no points. It earns no readiness points and doesn't change your KI Score. If you've already published an llms.txt, it should still be set up correctly, and the check in KI Score shows you whether it is.

What an llms.txt is

An llms.txt is a plain text file in Markdown format that sits at the /llms.txt address of a website. Its purpose is to give language models reliable information about the website in one place, usually with a heading, a short description, and links to important pages.

The file follows an open proposal, not a binding web standard. According to the note in the KI-Readiness report, Google explicitly ignores the file, while other services may use it.

How KI Score checks the file

The llms.txt check is part of KI-Readiness. It isn't listed in the Nächste Schritte (Next steps) tab. Instead, it appears in the Bonus-Signale (Bonus signals) card. To find the result:

1. In the sidebar, open Optimierung → KI-Readiness (Optimization → KI-Readiness).
2. If needed, run an analysis with Analyse starten (Start analysis) or Neu analysieren (Analyze again). KI-Readiness doesn't cost any credits.
3. In the page header, switch to the Inhalt & Struktur (Content & structure) tab.
4. Below Alle Prüfungen (All checks), expand the Bonus-Signale card and find the llms.txt entry.

KI Score requests /llms.txt from your website. The check passes when all three conditions are met:

• The file is found.
• It contains a heading, meaning a line that starts with # .
• The checked links are reachable. KI Score checks at most the first three links written in Markdown format, [Text](Address). If the file contains no links, this condition doesn't apply.

If your server responds to /llms.txt successfully but returns an HTML page instead of a text file, that doesn't count as finding the file. KI Score treats this response as a soft 404.

The entry shows the finding in German, for example “llms.txt gefunden · 2 von 3 geprüften Links erreichbar” (llms.txt found, 2 of 3 checked links reachable), “llms.txt nicht gefunden” (llms.txt not found), or “Antwort auf /llms.txt ist eine HTML-Seite (Soft-404)” (response to /llms.txt is an HTML page, soft 404). If the check doesn't pass, KI Score also shows a recommendation. The info icon on the entry explains what the check measures.

Why it doesn't earn points

The llms.txt check is scored at 0 out of 0 points. Whether it passes or not makes no difference to your website's rating, and it doesn't appear under Nächste Schritte either. The card describes bonus signals accordingly as “Positive Zusatzsignale — nie Pflicht, aber ein Vorsprung.” (Positive extra signals, never required, but a head start.)

The recommendation for this check gives the reason: Google explicitly ignores the file, while other services may use it.

Your KI Score isn't affected either. KI-Readiness as a whole doesn't feed into the KI Score, neither the llms.txt nor any other check. Your KI Score is determined solely by mentions of your brand in the AI answers for your market: how often your brand is named and in which position.

What matters instead

The essential KI-Readiness checks have more impact. They show whether AI systems can fetch and cite your content at all. Examples include:

• Sichtbarkeits-Crawler zugelassen (Visibility crawlers allowed): Your robots.txt allows the crawlers responsible for the search index and for live retrieval of AI answers, such as OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, or Googlebot. Blocking them costs visibility.
• Indexierung erlaubt (Indexing allowed): Neither your meta robots tag nor the X-Robots-Tag header contains noindex.
• Snippet-Freigabe (Snippets allowed): No directive such as nosnippet or max-snippet:0 prevents AI answers from citing your content.

You'll find open, scored checks in the Nächste Schritte tab. The list is sorted by status, then by tier, then by the gap in points.

For the KI Score itself, what counts is whether AI systems mention your brand in their answers. KI-Readiness lays the technical groundwork for that, but it doesn't measure visibility.