llms.txt · Guide
What Is llms.txt? The Complete Guide
llms.txt is a proposed file that gives AI systems a short, curated map of your site. Here’s what it actually does, what it doesn’t, and a real example you can copy.
By @buildwithdylanUpdated
What is llms.txt, in plain terms?
llms.txt is a proposed convention — from llmstxt.org, not any single AI company — for publishing a short, curated summary of a website at a fixed, predictable location: yoursite.com/llms.txt. It’s plain markdown: a title, a one-line summary in a blockquote, and a list of links to the pages that matter most.
The idea is that an AI system with a limited context window can read this one small file instead of trying to crawl and interpret an entire site. It’s the same instinct behind robots.txt and sitemap.xml — a small, standardised file at a known path — applied to “what is this site actually about,” not permissions or a full URL list.
It is a proposal, not a web standard ratified by any AI company. Support and usage vary and continue to evolve.
A real llms.txt file example
Here’s a complete, valid one for a small SaaS product:
# Acme Analytics
> Acme Analytics is a web analytics tool for small teams — event tracking, funnels and dashboards without the enterprise pricing.
## Docs
- [Quickstart](https://acme.example/docs/quickstart): install the tracking snippet and see your first event
- [API reference](https://acme.example/docs/api): every endpoint, with request and response examples
## Optional
- [Changelog](https://acme.example/changelog)
- [Status page](https://status.acme.example)The ## Optional heading is part of the convention — it marks secondary links a system can skip first if it’s short on context. You don’t have to include one. Build your own with the generator — it handles the formatting for you.
Where does llms.txt go?
At your domain root: yoursite.com/llms.txt. Not in a subfolder, not linked from a page — the same fixed location every site is expected to use, exactly like robots.txt. Plain UTF-8 text is all the encoding it needs.
To check whether a site — yours or anyone else’s — already has one, visit that path directly, or run it through our llms.txt checker, which fetches and reads the file for you.
Does llms.txt help SEO or get you indexed by LLMs?
Not for traditional SEO — Google Search doesn’t read llms.txt for ranking or indexing purposes. That’s a separate system entirely.
For AI citations specifically, be precise about what’s actually established: no major AI provider has publicly confirmed that llms.txt materially changes what gets cited in answers. It’s a reasonable, low-cost thing to publish if you’re already doing the fundamentals — a page AI crawlers can actually reach, content that doesn’t depend entirely on JavaScript to render, and structured data that describes who you are. It is not a substitute for any of those, and treating it as a shortcut past them is the most common mistake we see.
llms.txt for online stores
The same idea applies to a Shopify or WooCommerce store, with one adjustment: link to category and collection pages rather than every individual product, and keep descriptions factual — what you sell, who it’s for, shipping or return basics if they’re commonly asked about. A generated product feed isn’t the right shape for this file; it’s meant to be short and curated, not exhaustive.
If your platform is the bigger constraint, see our Shopify AI readiness checker or WordPress AI readiness checker for what usually blocks AI systems on those platforms before llms.txt becomes relevant at all.
Who’s actually using llms.txt today
Adoption is concentrated among developer tools and AI-adjacent products — companies publishing API and SDK documentation, where a short curated map of docs pages is directly useful to a coding agent reading them. It remains uncommon outside that niche, and there’s no comprehensive public registry of every site that has one. Treat any specific “X companies use it” claim you see elsewhere with the same scepticism you’d apply to any unverified adoption statistic.
Should you create an llms.txt file?
If you’ve already fixed crawler access, rendering and structured data — yes, as a low-cost extra with no real downside. If you haven’t, spend the time there first; it will move an AI system’s ability to read your site far more than this file will. The generator takes about a minute once you’re ready.
Frequently asked questions
Does llms.txt get you indexed by ChatGPT, Claude or other LLMs?
No file guarantees indexing or citation. llms.txt offers a curated map of your content that a system could choose to read, but adoption among major AI platforms is still limited and unconfirmed publicly. Crawler access, renderable content and structured data affect whether AI systems can reach and understand your site at all — those matter more.
Will llms.txt help my SEO or Google ranking?
No. llms.txt has nothing to do with Google Search or traditional SEO ranking — Google doesn't read it for indexing purposes. It's a separate, AI-specific convention, and even there its practical effect on any AI product's answers isn't confirmed.
What encoding should an llms.txt file use?
Plain UTF-8 text, formatted as markdown. Nothing more exotic is required or expected by the specification.
How do I see the llms.txt file of a website?
Visit their-domain.com/llms.txt directly in a browser, or run any domain through our llms.txt checker, which fetches and displays the same file.
Start with the fundamentals
Check what’s actually stopping AI from reading your site
llms.txt is one small, optional file. Crawler access, rendering and structured data matter more — run the full free report to see which of those need fixing.