Disclaimer text

Reusable disclaimer text

In short: Give agents your disclaimer word for word, in quotes or on a Disclaimer: line, saying the answer is general information and not professional advice.

Category: Compliance & Trust · weight 10 of 100 within the category
Compliance & Trust is worth 20 in regulated, 10 in generic and commerce, 5 in technical (points of 100, by scoring profile)
Audit ID P5 (as shown on reports) · rubric v2.1

What it checks

Whether the file gives agents disclaimer text, word for word, to attach to answers.

Why it matters

Agents paraphrase. Giving them exact disclaimer strings means the version users see is the one your compliance team approved.

When it applies

Opt-in (rubric v2.1). Applies only when your llms.txt declares an industry with an Industry: line (before the first section, in ## Identity, or in a section whose heading starts with “Compliance”) and that industry’s playbook is published with reviewer-signed rules. Up to three industries; values we don’t know are reported, not scored. Without a declaration, or while a declared playbook awaits sign-off, the whole Compliance & Trust category is Not applicable and its weight is redistributed: not declaring never costs points, and we never grade you against rules nobody has signed off.

An audit that doesn't apply, or that we couldn't verify, is removed from your score and its weight shared among the Compliance & Trust audits that do apply. It is never scored as a zero.

How it's scored

1 when an item addressed to agents gives not-advice wording (“not legal / financial / medical advice”, “general information”, “consult a licensed …”) either in quotes of six words or more or on a “Disclaimer” line or section · 0 otherwise. A bare “Not legal advice.” notice is not one.

How to fix

Write the disclaimer you want attached, word for word, in quotes.
Say which kinds of answer it belongs to.
Keep it short enough to append to an answer.

Example

## Disclaimers

- For rate questions: “Rates change daily and depend on credit approval. Check acme.com/rates for today’s rate, and consult a licensed loan officer before you decide.”

Frequently asked questions

What is a reusable disclaimer, and how should it be written in llms.txt?

A short, approved string, in quotes, that an agent can append word for word, labelled with the kind of answer it goes with, e.g. for rate questions: “Rates change daily and depend on credit approval; consult a licensed loan officer before you decide.” The audit gives full marks to not-advice wording (“not legal advice”, “general information”, “consult a licensed …”) in quotes of six words or more, or on a Disclaimer line or section addressed to agents.

Sources: LLMSRank: Disclaimer text

Can a disclaimer protect us if an agent makes a misleading claim about us?

Don’t count on it. The FTC’s advertising guidance says fine print can’t contradict or cure a misleading claim, and that qualifying information must be clear, conspicuous and close to the claim. Use disclaimers alongside a prohibited claims list, not instead of one, and check with your compliance team.

Sources: FTC: Advertising FAQs, a guide for small business · LLMSRank: Disclaimer text

Does a “Not legal advice.” line at the top of the file count?

No. A bare notice is addressed to readers of the file, not to agents, and there is nothing in it to attach to an answer. Write the sentence you want agents to add, in quotes, and say which answers it goes with. It applies only when your industry’s playbook is scored (see Regulatory guardrails).

Sources: LLMSRank: Disclaimer text · LLMSRank: Regulatory guardrails

In your research, how many sites gave agents disclaimer text to reuse?

In our research (187 sites, corpus captured 2026-10-10, scored with rubric v2.1), one file names an industry — att.com writes “Telecommunications” — and no playbook covers it, so this audit still applies to none of them. Under rubric v2.0 it applied to 7 homebuilders and brokerages matched by a domain list, which v2.1 retired.

Sources: LLMSRank method · LLMSRank: Disclaimer text