llms.txt: What It Is and How to Write One

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a plain Markdown file served at the root of a website (for example example.com/llms.txt) that summarizes what the site is and links to its most useful pages. It was proposed by Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI in September 2024 as a simple way to give language models clean, curated context.

Think of it as a briefing note for AI: where sitemap.xml lists every URL for search engines, llms.txt picks the few that matter and explains them in plain language.

Why add an llms.txt file?

Web pages are full of navigation, scripts and layout that make them hard for language models to read within a limited context window. An llms.txt file hands AI tools a short, accurate description of who you are and where your best content lives, written by you instead of inferred from scattered pages.

What goes in an llms.txt file?

The format is Markdown: an H1 with your site or company name, a blockquote with a one-paragraph summary, optional notes, then H2 sections containing bullet lists of links, each with a short description. A section titled “Optional” marks links that can be skipped when context is tight.

Copy-paste llms.txt template

# Acme Bakery

> Acme Bakery is a family-owned bakery in Austin, Texas, open since 1987.
> We bake 400 loaves of sourdough daily and deliver within 10 miles.

Orders placed before 9pm are delivered by 8am the next day.

## Main pages
- [Menu](https://acme.example/menu): breads, pastries and prices
- [Delivery](https://acme.example/delivery): areas, times and fees
- [About us](https://acme.example/about): our history and bakers

## Optional
- [Blog](https://acme.example/blog): recipes and baking tips

Checklist

• Serve it at /llms.txt as plain text or Markdown, not an HTML page.
• Lead with a factual one-paragraph summary: who, what, where, and one or two concrete numbers.
• Link only pages you want quoted, each with a one-line description.
• Keep it short — a few hundred words is plenty — and update it when your key pages change.

Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?

No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may access; llms.txt tells language models what is worth reading. robots.txt controls permission, llms.txt provides a guided summary. You need both: an llms.txt file does not help if robots.txt blocks AI crawlers from reaching your pages.

Do AI assistants actually use llms.txt?

Support is still emerging. It is a voluntary proposal rather than an official standard, and no major AI company has committed to always reading it. Developer tools and documentation platforms adopted it quickly. Because it takes minutes to write and costs nothing to host, it is a low-risk addition.

SeoGauge checks for a valid llms.txt as one of seven GEO checks — you can see ours at seogauge.com/llms.txt.