llms.txt — what it is and how to create the file (with template)
Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
llms.txt is a Markdown file at the root of your site (yoursite.com/llms.txt) that gives AI models a short summary of what you do and links to your most important pages. It's a proposed standard, not a requirement — but it's quick to create and makes your site easier for AI to understand.
Free toolCreate llms.txt for free →What is llms.txt?
llms.txt was proposed in 2024 by Jeremy Howard (Answer.AI) to give language models a clean overview of a website. Normal pages contain menus, scripts and ads that make them hard for AI to parse — llms.txt collects the essentials in plain text.
It's written in Markdown and lives at /llms.txt. It's sometimes misspelled llm.txt; the correct name is llms.txt.
How is it different from robots.txt?
Robots.txt decides what bots may read. llms.txt describes what's worth reading. robots.txt is access control, llms.txt is a guided map. An llms.txt won't help if robots.txt blocks AI bots.
What does llms.txt look like? (template)
The format is simple and follows a fixed order:
- ▸# Site or company name (H1, required)
- ▸> A one- or two-sentence summary
- ▸Optional paragraphs with key context (what, where, for whom)
- ▸## Section headings, e.g. ## Services, ## Guides
- ▸- [Page name](https://yoursite.com/page): short description
- ▸## Optional — links that can be skipped when space is limited
Does your business show up in AI answers?
Free AI Visibility Score — 8 questions run against ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
Do ChatGPT and Google read llms.txt?
Honest answer: none of the major AI services has officially confirmed using llms.txt to rank or select sources. It is used by several developer tools and AI agents, and many tech companies publish one.
Treat llms.txt as cheap insurance and a complement — not a replacement for good content, structured data and mentions.
How to create llms.txt step by step
1. Write one sentence explaining what the company does and for whom. 2. Pick 5–20 of your most important pages. 3. Group them under headings. 4. Give each link a short description. 5. Save as llms.txt in the site root and check that yoursite.com/llms.txt loads. Our free llms.txt generator handles steps 1–4.
Checklist
- 01Confirm AI bots are allowed in robots.txt
- 02Write a clear company summary
- 03Pick your most important pages
- 04Create the file with the llms.txt generator
- 05Upload to the root and open yoursite.com/llms.txt
- 06Update when you add important pages
Frequently asked questions
What is llms.txt?
A Markdown file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that summarises the site and links to its key pages for AI models.
Do I need llms.txt?
It's not required, but it takes minutes to create and makes your site easier for AI tools to interpret.
Is it llm.txt or llms.txt?
The correct filename is llms.txt, with an s.
Does ChatGPT use llms.txt?
OpenAI hasn't officially confirmed it. Treat the file as a complement to good content and accessibility.
Where should llms.txt live?
At the site root, like robots.txt: https://yoursite.com/llms.txt.
Does your business show up in AI answers?
Free AI Visibility Score — 8 questions run against ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.