Question 1

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)?

Accepted Answer

GEO is the practice of tweaking your website and content so that AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity mention your business in their answers. Research from KDD 2024 found that the right strategies can boost visibility by up to 40% in AI-generated responses.

Question 2

What does an llms.txt file do?

Accepted Answer

An llms.txt file tells AI systems about your business, your permissions for AI crawlers, and your legal jurisdiction. It is placed at yourdomain.co.uk/llms.txt and follows the open llmstxt.org standard proposed by fast.ai.

Question 3

Is an llms.txt file legally binding?

Accepted Answer

An llms.txt file is a statement of intent, not a legally binding contract. That said, spelling out your UK copyright position under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is useful evidence if you ever need to pursue an IP claim.

Question 4

Does blocking AI crawlers hurt my Google rankings?

Accepted Answer

Blocking most AI-specific crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Bytespider, DeepSeekBot, MistralAI-User, and others) has zero effect on traditional Google Search rankings. The exception is Googlebot: blocking it removes your site from Google Search and disables AI Overviews. Use Google-Extended to opt out of Gemini training without any ranking penalty.

Question 5

Where do I put the llms.txt file?

Accepted Answer

Place the file at the root of your domain: https://yourdomain.co.uk/llms.txt. For WordPress, upload it via FTP to your web root. For Webflow, add it as a custom file in your project settings.

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