You probably already know that robots.txt is a file that tells search engines what to look for and what to skip on your site. But since AI is becoming a big part of how people look for information, you might want to know about a new file called llms.txt.
This file is designed for large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools. While robots.txt talks to search engine bots, llms.txt is built to help AI systems find and understand key information on your site more clearly.
If you’re a technical SEO expert or someone working with AI-focused strategies, this file could play a role in your visibility. Let’s walk through what it is, why it matters, and whether it’s something you should add to your site.
llms.txt is a simple file you put at the root of your website, just like this: https://yourwebsite.com/llms.txt. It’s written in markdown, which is easy for both humans and AI to read. You use it to guide AI models to your most important content. Think of it like giving them a shortcut to your information that really matters.
There is a title and a short description of what your website is for at the beginning of the file. Then you have a clear list of your important pages. If you want to give AI additional information to read all in one spot, you may also add a version called llms-full.txt.
For a technical SEO specialist managing AI readiness, this gives a new layer of optimization beyond what search engines traditionally crawl. It helps ensure that AI tools don’t miss key details when people search in conversational ways.
When someone asks an AI assistant about your business, the assistant might pull data from across the web. If you have a clear and accurate llms.txt file, the AI might use that and even show your website as the source. This can improve how often your brand gets mentioned in AI-generated responses.
Some pages on your website may be difficult for AI technologies to find, especially if they are buried under menus or they are orphaned pages. With llms.txt, you give AI a clear list of your most valuable pages.
When AI tools guess or pull outdated info, they can give wrong answers. llms.txt helps by pointing them to fresh, correct, and official content from your site.
Instead of hoping AI finds what it needs, llms.txt lets you speak directly to it. This helps especially when AI is answering a question in real time and can’t browse your full website.
If you’re handling technical SEO, adding llms.txt can become part of your setup. Here’s how you can start using llms.txt on your site:
Use any text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) to write your llms.txt. Write it in Markdown format. Keep it simple and clear.
# Your Website Name
> A short description of your business.
## Core Content
– [About Us](https://yourwebsite.com/about)
– [Services](https://yourwebsite.com/services)
– [FAQs](https://yourwebsite.com/faq)
Example content:
markdown
Save the file as llms.txt (lowercase, plural) and upload it to the root of your website. That means it should be directly under your main domain, not in a subfolder.
If you want to give AI tools a longer, more detailed version of your content, you can create a second file called llms-full.txt. This can include deeper explanations or summaries of your key pages.
Make sure to update your llms.txt file when you launch new products, change your services, or update your site content.
For web developers or even technical SEO experts managing client sites, maintaining this file becomes part of ensuring content is not just searchable, but also usable by AI tools.
While they sound similar, they do different things:
| Feature | robots.txt | llms.txt |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | Search engine bots | AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini |
| Main purpose | Tells bots what not to crawl | Tells AI what content is most useful |
| File format | Plain text | Markdown |
| Goal | Control what search engines see | Help AI give accurate, helpful answers |
This distinction matters for anyone doing technical SEO. robots.txt helps you manage crawl budget and indexing, while llms.txt supports how AI understands and presents your content to users.
This is still a new concept, and not every business will benefit from it right away. Before adding llms.txt to your site, consider both the potential upside and the current limitations.
If you’re someone who likes to stay ahead of digital trends, implementing llms.txt now could put your brand in a good position. Even if adoption is still growing, it’s a low-risk way to prepare your content for the AI-driven web.
If your time and energy are better spent on proven tactics like SEO and schema markup, you might hold off for now. llms.txt isn’t widely adopted yet, and big AI platforms haven’t confirmed they use it.
llms.txt is a new idea. It’s not yet widely used, but it’s a smart way to help AI tools understand your content better. It won’t replace SEO tools or strategies, but it’s another way to get your brand seen, especially in AI-driven answers.
If your site has a lot of content or if you want to make your brand more visible in the AI space, it might be worth giving llms.txt a try. Just remember to keep your content helpful, clear, and accurate, because whether it’s AI or people, that’s what always works best.
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