What is llms.txt, and does your business need one?
Updated · 2 min read
llms.txt is a small plain-text file, placed at yoursite.com/llms.txt, that summarises your website for AI tools: who you are, what you offer, and which pages matter most.
It's an emerging proposal rather than an official standard, and support from major AI assistants is still limited. But it takes ten minutes to create and costs nothing, so many businesses add one.
Why llms.txt was proposed
Web pages are full of menus, pop-ups, scripts and design elements. AI tools have to dig through all of that to find the facts. llms.txt offers a clean, short summary in Markdown (a simple text format), written by you, that an AI tool can read in one go.
What goes in it
- A title with your business name
- A one- or two-sentence summary of what you do, for whom, and where
- Your main services
- Location, opening hours and contact details
- Links to your most important pages, such as services, pricing, FAQ and contact
Keep it short, factual and up to date. It should match what your website says, not add claims your website doesn't make.
Example for a local business
A dental practice in Austin might have an llms.txt that starts with its name, a one-line summary (“Family dental clinic in Austin, Texas offering check-ups, whitening and emergency care, open Saturdays”), a short list of services, contact details and links to its services, FAQ and booking pages.
You can create yours in a couple of minutes with our free llms.txt generator.
Is it worth it?
Honestly: llms.txt alone won't get you recommended by ChatGPT or Gemini. The things that matter far more are letting AI crawlers read your site, clear service and location information, structured data, and consistent listings and reviews.
Think of llms.txt as a cheap extra once the basics are in place. Our AI readiness checker shows which basics you're missing.
Questions
Where do I put llms.txt?
In the root of your website, next to robots.txt, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. Most hosting file managers, and many website builders, let you upload files there.
Does Google use llms.txt?
Google hasn't said it uses llms.txt for Search. Treat it as an optional extra for AI tools, not a ranking factor.