Quick explainer before we dive in: LLMs.txt is a proposed file format that tells AI models how to treat your site—think of it like robots.txt, but for large language models.
A new analysis of 129K sites points to a simple pattern: ChatGPT cites brands that look authoritative, visible, and trusted across the open web. LLMs.txt may be having a moment—use it as housekeeping—but don’t expect tricks to replace real signals.
Another study of 300,000 domains found no measurable lift in AI visibility or citation rates from using LLMs.txt. Only ~10% of sites have adopted it, usage is flat across small and large sites, and domains that include it aren’t cited more often—removing it even improved some citation models’ accuracy.
What to prioritize—practical moves that compound:
- Earn authority. Invest in PR, partnerships, and useful assets that attract credible backlinks.
- Grow demand to your root domain. Treat the homepage as a strength signal—clarify the value prop, surface your best content, and make navigation effortless.
- Show up in communities. Participate on Reddit and Quora with experience-backed answers; reference your content when it genuinely helps.
- Publish depth, then keep it fresh. Ship cornerstone guides and refresh them on a regular cadence to stay referenceable.
- Be fast by default. Improve Core Web Vitals, trim scripts, and optimize images so pages load quickly.
TL;DR: AI-targeted files like LLMs.txt and one-off schema tricks show limited impact on website performance. What does move the needle are durable brand and UX signals. Treat ChatGPT like another discerning reader. Build authority, signal real brand demand, show up where people talk, keep content current, and keep your site fast—then use LLMs.txt as supportive hygiene.
C-Suite Marketing Brief
Funnel fatigue? Here’s the fix — Funnels still work, buyers just take 13+ touchpoints. Run steady A/B tests (small wins compound), use personalized CTAs, and treat each stage—top, middle, and bottom of the funnel—as its own mini-funnel. Find the specific blockers in each and fix them. Do this weekly and you’ll cut CAC, lift ROI, and forecast with more confidence.
Busy marketing ≠ growth Marketing — If you’re shipping nonstop campaigns yet asking “Why isn’t this working?”, you likely have a strategy gap, rather than a volume problem. Our new ebook, Fractional CMO, Full-Funnel Impact shows how embedded leadership aligns marketing and sales, launches focused GTM plays fast, and builds systems that scale without the full-time price tag.
B2B Growth = be seen, be searchable, be ready — LinkedIn’s new 55-page guide boils growth down to visibility: Presence—show up where buyers actually research (LinkedIn, search, events); Prominence—be easy to find across digital and human touchpoints; Portfolio—offer solutions that fit today’s jobs to be done. Think shelf space: if you’re not in the aisle, you’re not in the cart.
Turn your website into a sales ally — Bad websites attract the wrong buyers. Instead, lead with clarity (who you help, how), prove it with credibility (brief case studies, testimonials, logos), and make conversion easy (simple next steps, no heavy commitment). Follow these steps and ideal buyers lean in, tire-kickers self-select out, and sales cycles get shorter.
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Adobe buys Semrush for $1.9B—aiming to own AI-era visibility — By pairing AEM+Analytics with Semrush’s SEO/visibility stack, Adobe gives marketers one system to see and shape how brands surface in LLMs, search, and owned channels. With AI-referred traffic exploding, the move shifts focus from “rank on Google” to “be the authoritative entity everywhere.”