AI readiness guide
What is llms.txt?
Short answer
llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file, written in Markdown and placed at your domain root (like https://example.com/llms.txt), that gives AI assistants a concise, curated summary of your website and its most important public pages. Think of it as an optional, AI-readable overview — similar in spirit to robots.txt, but for context rather than crawl rules. It is not required and does not guarantee AI rankings or citations.
What llms.txt actually is
llms.txt is a proposed web standard: a single Markdown file served at /llms.txt that describes what your site is, who it is for, and which public pages matter most. Because it is plain text, AI systems that cannot reliably run JavaScript or parse a complex layout can read your intended summary directly.
It is optional. A missing llms.txt is not an error or a launch blocker — it is simply a signal you can choose to add when AI-assistant readiness matters to you.
What goes in a good llms.txt
Start with a Markdown H1 (your product or site name), a one-line summary in a blockquote, then short sections that link to important public pages: documentation, pricing, FAQ, privacy, terms, contact, API docs, or a changelog.
Only include public pages you own or are authorized to expose. Never put private dashboards, signed URLs, secrets, or customer data in llms.txt — the file is meant to be read by anyone, including AI crawlers.
llms.txt vs robots.txt vs sitemap.xml
robots.txt controls which crawlers may access which paths. sitemap.xml lists your indexable URLs for search engines. llms.txt does neither — it provides a human-written summary and curated links so an AI assistant can understand your site quickly. The three are complementary, not substitutes.
Tools for this
Or run a full AI readiness check to see crawler access, llms.txt, and schema in one report.
FAQ
Is llms.txt required?
No. It is a proposed, optional standard. Treat it as an AI-readiness signal, not a required file or a launch blocker.
Where do I put llms.txt?
Serve it at the root of your domain as /llms.txt, as plain text or Markdown-compatible text (for example text/plain).
Does llms.txt guarantee AI visibility?
No. It can clarify your site's context for some AI assistants, but no file guarantees AI rankings, citations, or recommendations.
Related guides
Does llms.txt help SEO and AI search?
Does adding llms.txt improve SEO or AI search visibility? An honest look at what llms.txt can and cannot do, and when it is worth adding to your site.
GEO vs AEO vs SEO: what's the difference?
GEO, AEO, and SEO explained simply: SEO ranks links, AEO wins the direct answer, and GEO earns mentions inside AI-generated responses. How they overlap and what to do.