llms.txt
Also called llms txt file, LLMs.txt.
llms.txt is a proposed convention for a plain Markdown file at the root of a website, such as example.com/llms.txt, that gives AI tools a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. It was proposed by Jeremy Howard in September 2024. Major answer engines have not said they use it to decide what to show or who to recommend.
Doug's Field Guide · Updated
What goes in the file
The format is simple Markdown. It starts with the site or business name as a heading, then a one paragraph summary, then lists of links to the pages that matter, each with a short note. For a plumbing company that might be the service pages, the areas served page, pricing, the FAQ and the booking page.
The idea is that an AI tool reading a site on someone's behalf can grab one clean file instead of wading through menus, pop ups and scripts. The proposal is aimed mostly at documentation sites, and the proposal's own site says companies like OpenAI and Anthropic publish one for their developer docs. The spec has also been revised since it was first posted, which is normal for a young proposal and one more reason not to build your plans around it.
Does it help you get recommended
Nobody has shown that it does. Google says plainly that you don't need AI text files or special markup to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. OpenAI's crawler documentation talks about robots.txt and OAI-SearchBot, not llms.txt. Publishing one for your own docs is not the same as reading everyone else's to rank businesses.
So treat it as cheap and optional. It takes ten minutes, it does no harm, and it may help an AI agent that is browsing your site to book or compare. It won't make up for thin service pages, mismatched hours or no reviews. If someone sells you an llms.txt as the key to ChatGPT, they are selling a text file. Spend the same hour on your robots.txt, your Bing listing or a clear pricing page.
Add an llms.txt in ten minutes
- Open a plain text file and put your business name on the first line after a single #.
- Add a one paragraph summary starting with >: what you do, where, and how to book.
- Under a ## Pages heading, list links to your service, area, pricing, FAQ and booking pages with a short note on each.
- Upload it to your site root as llms.txt and open it in a browser to check it loads.
Common mistakes
- Treating llms.txt as a ranking factor and skipping the pages and listings that actually get you named.
- Letting the file drift out of date, so it lists old services or a dead booking link.
- Confusing it with robots.txt, which is the file that actually controls which crawlers can read your site.
How Doug does it
Doug focuses on what answers show today: every week he asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google your customers' questions and records who is named and which sources are cited. For AI assistants, he can list your business inside ChatGPT, Claude and Muse with booking, if you opt in.
Keep exploring
- Answer engine optimizationAEO, GEO, LLM SEO: the work of getting named when people ask an AI instead of searching.
- Getting listed in AI assistantsVerify your site and connect Stripe so ChatGPT, Claude, and Muse can book you.
- Schema markupA short block of code that tells search engines your name, address, hours and services.
- Google Search ConsoleGoogle's free tool that shows how your website does in Google Search.
Sources
- llmstxt.org: The /llms.txt file
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- OpenAI: Overview of OpenAI crawlers
Written by Doug's team from these sources and our own work with local businesses. Search engines change their rules, so check the source before a big decision.
