Introduction
In our last blog we talked about what the llms.txt file is, and why it’s important. The TL;DR is that it’s quickly becoming a standard for directing AI agents around the web and feeding them information they can digest.
We spent some time researching who has actually created an llms.txt file. Shockingly, out of 819 blog-style websites that we found, only 13 had one. Just 13. But that’s actually good news. Early adopters always have the advantage. Websites with a proper llms.txt file are more likely to be recommended by generative AI, leading to more visibility, more visits, and even more recommendations. There aren’t too many people who are taking advantage of the potential, and even fewer doing it right.
Curious where you stand?. Try out our llms.txt checker tool to find out!
Who Did It Right (and Wrong)
Out of the 13 websites with an llms.txt, only 4 followed the guidelines completely. Many left watermarks from generators. Others used the wrong header structure or even put their robots.txt content inside their llms.txt file.
We give credit to everyone who made the effort, even if imperfectly. Creating a poorly formatted llms.txt file is better than not doing it at all.
The Biggest Websites Aren’t Doing It Yet
We wondered if any of the top 100 most visited websites (according to Ahrefs) had adopted llms.txt. The answer? Absolutely zero. None of the biggest websites are using llms.txt right now. This makes sense because they don’t have to. They’re already visible enough in today’s search landscape. Tomorrow’s search, however, might be different.
But this isn’t really about them. It’s about solopreneurs, small businesses, and creators trying to stand out. And luckily, standing out doesn’t require the big marketing budget the top 100 websites have… you just have to be findable by generative models. AI agents are connecting niche services to niche needs better than traditional search ever did. Soon, adopting llms.txt may be the key to making even more of those connections.
Heavy Hitters Getting on Board
Though none of the top 100 have adopted llms.txt yet, we noticed that some bigger names have. Some developers have compiled a list of adopters, including industry leaders like Stripe in financial services and Anthropic, the team behind Claude.
I want to repeat that clearly. Anthropic AI, the creators of one of the biggest generative AI search tools, use llms.txt for their documentation (see for yourself). Larger companies are adapting to stay relevant as more search activity shifts towards AI… even AI search’s own pioneers.
Conclusion
Build your llms.txt file to future-proof for GEO, even if others aren’t hopping on board yet. Ripenn.ai can help you do it right. We’ll teach you how to format your llms.txt, validate it at every step, and we’re working to automate the whole process soon. Being an early adopter can pay off in a big way. Don’t miss out.