Is your website readable by AI search?
By Dallas Mayne, Founder · Published · Last reviewed · 6 min read
Short answer
Make sure AI search crawlers aren't blocked, your key facts are in plain text on the page, and your structured data matches what people see. An llms.txt file is optional; Google says it doesn't need one.
1. Check robots.txt for the search crawlers
Each AI company documents which crawler powers its search answers. Allowing these lets your pages appear as sources:
- ChatGPT search: OAI-SearchBot (GPTBot is separate and used for training).
- Perplexity: PerplexityBot (Perplexity says it isn't used to train AI models).
- Google AI Overviews and AI Mode: normal Googlebot. Your page needs to be indexed and snippet-eligible.
- Google-Extended only controls Gemini training and grounding in Gemini Apps, not Google Search.
2. Put the facts in plain text
- Your trade, the cities you serve, your phone number and your hours should be real text on the page, not only inside an image.
- Avoid hiding key info behind "click to reveal" buttons or forms.
- A short FAQ answering the questions customers actually ask (price range, emergency calls, service area) is easy for people and machines to read.
3. Add LocalBusiness structured data (and keep it honest)
Google documents LocalBusiness structured data, with address as a required property, and asks that structured data match the visible page. Google also says no special markup is needed for AI features, so treat structured data as a way to state your facts clearly, not a shortcut.
4. llms.txt: optional
llms.txt is a proposed file that gives AI tools a short summary of your site. Some tools read it. Google says you don't need to create AI text files to appear in its AI features, and OpenAI and Perplexity document robots.txt, not llms.txt, for their search crawlers. It's cheap to add, but don't expect it to change results on its own.
Common questions
- Is blocking all bots safer?
- Blocking everything also blocks the crawlers that show your site in AI search answers. OpenAI says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers.
- Do I need llms.txt?
- No. It's optional. Google says AI text files aren't needed for its AI features, and OpenAI and Perplexity document robots.txt for their search crawlers.
- Does structured data get me into AI answers?
- Not by itself. Google says there's no special schema needed for AI features. It helps state your facts clearly, and it must match what's visible on the page.
Sources
Official pages we checked on September 28, 2026. Rules change, so check the source before you rely on it.