In the Crane Index™ scan of 1 October 2026, 584 of 2,295 websites (25%) had an llms.txt file at the root. Technology and Software had the highest share, 71 of 123 sites (58%), and Transport and Logistics, Education and UK Airports the lowest, at 14%.
- 25%Of 2,295 readable websites, 584 had an llms.txt file. Link
- 58%In Technology and Software, the highest of 21 benchmarks: 71 of 123 sites. Link
Whether a file answered at the site's /llms.txt address, across the 2,295 websites the scan could read in 21 industry benchmarks. 105 organisations sit in two benchmarks and are counted in each.
Whether any AI system reads the file, and whether it changes how often a site is cited, is not measured here.
llms.txt adoption by industry, 2026
Share of each benchmark's readable websites with an llms.txt file, highest first. Each benchmark links to its fixed 2026 edition.
| Industry benchmark | With llms.txt | Sites read | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology and Software | 71 | 123 | 58% |
| Telecommunications | 46 | 133 | 35% |
| FTSE 100 | 14 | 41 | 34% |
| Real Estate and Property | 41 | 126 | 33% |
| Travel and Tourism | 26 | 86 | 30% |
| Insurance | 36 | 124 | 29% |
| Financial Services | 34 | 122 | 28% |
| Hospitality and Leisure | 33 | 121 | 27% |
| Consumer Goods | 32 | 119 | 27% |
| UK Ecommerce | 20 | 75 | 27% |
| Professional Services | 37 | 144 | 26% |
| Manufacturing and Industrial | 33 | 131 | 25% |
| Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals | 29 | 132 | 22% |
| Automotive | 20 | 102 | 20% |
| Media and Entertainment | 22 | 125 | 18% |
| Universities | 20 | 116 | 17% |
| Energy and Utilities | 19 | 120 | 16% |
| Legal Services | 20 | 135 | 15% |
| Transport and Logistics | 15 | 107 | 14% |
| Education | 13 | 91 | 14% |
| UK Airports | 3 | 22 | 14% |
What llms.txt is, and how the Index scores it
llms.txt is a proposed convention, set out at llmstxt.org: a short Markdown file at a site's root that tells a language model what the site is and which pages matter. It is not an adopted web standard, so the Crane Index treats it as forward-looking. A site without one is marked partial rather than failed, and the check carries one of the smallest weights in the AI Search Readiness score.
The weight is deliberate. The gaps that most often stop a machine from reading a business sit elsewhere, and are set out in website AI readiness statistics 2026.