How Your SEO Agency Can Improve AEO and Assess llms.txt

If your business is missing from AI-generated answers, it is tempting to look for a technical switch that will make you appear. The llms.txt file is often presented as that switch. It deserves a more careful assessment, particularly now that marketers have better ways to investigate where their content is being used.

On 13 October 2026, Bing introduced Topics Portfolio in beta, adding a way to explore gaps in AI citation coverage. This gives your SEO agency a useful starting point for answer engine optimisation, or AEO: investigate relevant customer questions, identify the missing information and improve the page that should answer them. Treat llms.txt as a separate publishing decision with its own purpose.

Ask Your SEO Agency to Review AI Citation Opportunities

Bing’s new report groups the queries behind AI answers into topics and highlights opportunities where other websites are cited but yours is absent. In Bing Webmaster Tools, open AI Performance and look for Topics Portfolio. The feature needs sufficient data, so some smaller sites may not see it. Its estimates and AI-generated classifications are directional, and competitor-branded queries can appear among the opportunities.

Start with a topic closely tied to a service you actually sell. A consultancy may care about implementation costs or choosing between service options. A broad topic that attracts attention but has little relationship to your customers should not automatically become next month’s content brief.

Bing’s report documentation defines grounding queries as phrases an AI system uses to retrieve supporting content. They are not necessarily the exact questions customers typed. The wider AI Performance report covers Microsoft Copilot, Bing’s AI summaries and selected partner integrations; it is not a complete picture of every answer engine.

Ask your agency to translate one promising query into a recognisable buying decision. For example, “office refurbishment timeline” could represent an operations manager assessing disruption before approving a project. That interpretation needs checking against real sales conversations before you commission content.

Turn One Citation Gap Into a Better Customer Answer

Open the page that should address that decision and read it as a potential client. Does it explain the variables that affect the answer, or merely promise an excellent service? For the refurbishment example, useful information might distinguish design approval, procurement and work on site, with realistic dependencies and an explanation of what can happen outside operating hours.

Use the following review to produce a focused brief:

• Name the customer decision and the commercial reason your business should address it.
• Choose the existing page that should own the answer, or justify why a new resource is needed.
• Identify the missing detail, such as scope, limitations, a comparison or a worked example.
• Obtain evidence from the person responsible for delivering the service and agree who will keep it current.
• Define the useful next step for the reader, such as reviewing a relevant project or discussing their requirements.

Your SEO agency should turn the findings into a specific revision, not a request for another generic article. A page that already attracts visitors may need a clearer explanation and supporting evidence rather than replacement. Blue Beetle’s GEO guide explains how answer clarity and evidence quality contribute different kinds of value.

Understand What llms.txt Is Designed to Do

The llms.txt proposal describes a Markdown file that gives agents a concise introduction and a curated route to useful resources. Markdown is a plain-text format with simple headings and links. The proposal was updated in August 2026 and also describes clean Markdown versions of pages. Its strongest established use is software documentation, where agents need to find instructions and reference material.

For a service business, a possible use is a maintained guide to public service descriptions, policies and technical resources. A property advisory firm, for example, could point an agent towards its services and published methodology. That helps only when the agent discovers and uses the file; publishing it does not establish that an answer engine will recommend the firm.

The file provides guidance, not access control. It does not replace robots.txt, a sitemap or normal website navigation. Do not place confidential material in it or assume that an instruction can force a model to make a particular recommendation.

Decide Whether Your SEO Agency Should Implement llms.txt

Google’s AI guidance states that websites do not need new AI text files or special markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Supporting pages must be indexed and eligible for a search snippet, with normal SEO foundations still relevant. An llms.txt installation should therefore never be sold as a requirement for those Google features.

Ask your SEO agency to explain who is expected to use the file. A named documentation assistant or integration is a clearer reason than “all AI tools need it”. For a straightforward brochure website, improving public pages and resolving access problems may be the better use of the same budget.

If you proceed, keep the scope small. Use an accurate business description and a short selection of important public resources, with descriptions that explain their purpose. Check that every link works, assign an owner and include the file in the review process when services or URLs change. Your development team should confirm that the file and any linked Markdown versions remain consistent with the published website.

Blue Beetle’s website structure article covers the broader foundations for making content understandable. A curated text file can support a defined workflow, but it should not become a second, contradictory version of your business information.

Separate File Usage From Search Visibility

Keep three questions distinct when reporting results. Did an agent request the file? Did an answer engine cite a relevant page? Did someone become a useful prospect? Each requires different evidence. A server request can indicate access, but it does not prove the content influenced an answer or that a sale followed.

Record a baseline before changing the selected page. Note its citation activity where available, the business questions it addresses and any identifiable referral traffic or enquiries. After publication, review comparable periods and allow for changing demand and other site updates. A before-and-after increase is a signal to investigate, not proof that one edit caused it.

If your team experiments with llms.txt at the same time as rewriting content, report both changes. To assess the file itself, give a test agent a relevant task and examine whether it can find the correct information through the file. Keep that usability test separate from claims about visibility across public answer engines.

Commission an AEO Improvement You Can Evaluate

A useful brief should identify the buyer question being addressed, the work required and the evidence you expect to review afterwards. Ask for that brief before approving an AI visibility package. It gives your business a concrete deliverable and a basis for deciding what deserves further investment.

If you want help choosing the right next step, contact Blue Beetle. Our SEO agency team can assess your AI citation opportunities, prioritise content improvements and evaluate whether llms.txt serves a practical purpose for your website.