If you’ve been following the ongoing conversation around AI in search, you may have heard chatter about LLMS.txt, a proposed protocol that gives website owners the ability to control whether their content is accessed by large language models (LLMs).
But according to Google, when it comes to visibility in its AI Overviews, there’s only one rule to follow: stick to traditional SEO best practices.
Google Confirms: No Special SEO Needed for AI Overviews
At Google’s Search Central Deep Dive event in the Asia Pacific region, Google’s Gary Illyes confirmed that there’s no need for webmasters to adopt specialized protocols like GEO, LLMO, or LLMS.txt to have their content show up in AI Overviews. Instead, he made it clear that normal SEO is the key to inclusion.
Search marketer Kenichi Suzuki, who attended the event, posted on LinkedIn that Illyes told attendees, “To get your content to appear in AI Overview, simply use normal SEO practices. You don’t need GEO, LLMO or anything else.”
This statement underscores Google’s current approach: AI Overviews are populated using content already indexed and ranked through the standard search engine processes. If your content is eligible to rank in regular organic search, it’s also eligible to appear in AI Overviews.
No Plans to Support LLMS
There has been growing interest in the LLMS.txt file, a variant of the widely adopted robots.txt, as a way for publishers to manage how their content is accessed by LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and others. However, Gary Illyes made it explicitly clear during a Q&A session that Google Search does not currently crawl or support LLMS.txt, nor does it have any plans to.
Kenichi Suzuki reported on LinkedIn, “Gary Illyes clearly stated that Google doesn’t support LLMS.txt and isn’t planning to.”
This aligns with previous statements from Google’s John Mueller, who has also noted that no major AI system is actively using LLMS.txt at scale. That said, other AI platforms are experimenting with the file.
For instance, OpenAI’s web crawler has been checking his LLMS.txt file every 15 minutes, suggesting that at least some AI models are exploring its use for managing content permissions.
What This Means for Webmasters and SEOs
If you want your content to be featured in AI Overviews , Google’s new AI-powered summaries at the top of some search results, your strategy doesn’t need to change. Google is treating these overviews as an extension of its existing search infrastructure.
The same factors that affect your rankings in Google Search, crawlability, indexability, content quality, relevance, and authority , are the ones that determine whether your content is eligible to appear in AI Overviews.
So while tools like LLMS.txt may be useful in dealing with other AI platforms, they have no bearing on Google Search or AI Overviews at this time.
As SEO expert Lily Ray recently noted, “AI search is booming, but SEO is still not dead.” That sentiment rings especially true here.
Despite all the disruption from generative AI, the fundamentals of SEO , keyword optimization, high-quality content, strong site structure, and a positive user experience , remain as critical as ever.
Additional Context: Why AI Overviews Matter
AI Overviews represent Google’s effort to integrate generative AI into the search experience, providing concise answers and summarizations at the top of the search results page. These overviews pull from multiple sources, and they may offer citations that link back to your site , a potential traffic driver if your content is featured.
However, it’s worth noting that while AI Overviews can improve visibility, it’s unclear how much click-through traffic they generate. Some critics worry that these overviews may reduce the need for users to click into actual websites, especially when the summaries are comprehensive.
Final Thoughts
While new technologies like LLMS.txt may shape how AI platforms interact with online content in the future, Google is holding firm to its roots , at least for now. If you want your website to show up in AI Overviews, don’t chase the newest acronym. Just keep doing solid SEO.