Introduction

The digital world is shifting as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes central to how we search, interact, and do business online. Traditionally, search engines relied on files like robots.txt and sitemap.xml to crawl and index content. Large language models (LLMs) now push discoverability further by generating answers and recommendations directly.

Enter llms.txt: a simple yet powerful way to help AI systems understand your website’s structure, products, and key information. Although early in adoption, llms.txt is gaining attention from site owners and AI developers. This article explains what it is, how it works, why it matters, how it’s being tested today, and what it could mean for the future of the web.

What is an llms.txt file?

An llms.txt file is plain text placed in the root of your site (like robots.txt). Its purpose is to present structured, machine-readable pointers to LLMs and AI crawlers—such as OpenAI’s GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity, and others—so they can quickly find the most important areas of your site.

Typical entries identify high-value sections such as:

• Homepage
• About and Contact pages
• Product listings and categories
• Blog and blog categories
• Portfolio or service listings
• Any other significant URLs

Example:

# llms.txt generated for: https://example.com
site: https://example.com
about: https://example.com/about
contact: https://example.com/contact
blog: https://example.com/blog
blog_category_marketing: https://example.com/category/marketing/
portfolio: https://example.com/portfolio/

This intentionally simple format gives AI systems a clear, consistent way to find key parts of your site—information that might otherwise be hidden in navigation or scattered across pages.

Why do we need llms.txt?

1) AI isn’t human

Even advanced language models can miss your main offerings—especially with custom navigation, heavy JavaScript, or unusual layouts. Humans infer; machines need clear signals.

2) Traditional SEO files don’t cover it all

• robots.txt sets crawl permissions.
• sitemap.xml lists URLs, often in bulk and without context.

Neither provides a concise “cheat sheet” that tells LLMs what your business is about and where its most useful content lives.

3) AI-powered search is here

ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and LLM-driven search engines increasingly surface answers from the open web. Clear, machine-readable pointers increase the likelihood your content is cited and recommended.

How is llms.txt being used and tested?

Early adoption

Forward-thinking site owners, SEOs, and developers are implementing llms.txt to future-proof their presence—especially eCommerce brands, personal sites, and services that want visibility in AI-generated results.

LLM crawlers and AI bots

Some AI crawlers already request llms.txt. While not a universal standard yet, server logs show bots checking for it similar to robots.txt and sitemap.xml. Developers are experimenting with using it as a starting point to understand a site’s core structure.

Testing methods

• Manual testing: Inspect access logs for User-Agents like GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, etc.
• Online checks: Ensure the file is accessible at https://yoursite.com/llms.txt and served as plain text (not HTML).
• Community sharing: SEOs and developers are trading patterns and examples to encourage wider adoption.

Best practices for creating llms.txt

• Use plain text: One key–value pair per line; no HTML.
• Be descriptive and consistent: Use underscores for multi-word keys (e.g., blog_category_marketing).
• Keep URLs absolute: Always include the full URL.
• Comment as needed: Lines starting with # are ignored by bots.
• Update regularly: Reflect new categories, products, and sections.
• Upload to the root directory: Make it available at /llms.txt.

What does the future hold?

llms.txt isn’t a formal standard yet, but interest is growing across SEO and AI communities. As LLMs mediate more discovery, a well-structured file could become as common as robots.txt and sitemaps.

Possible developments

• Standardization: Documentation and shared guidelines may emerge as adoption grows.
• Platform integration: CMSs and SEO plugins are likely to add native support for generating and managing llms.txt.
• Enhanced AI interactions: Sites with clean llms.txt may gain richer representation in AI summaries, chat results, and product recommendations.

Challenges and considerations

Lack of universal adoption (for now)

Not every bot checks llms.txt yet. Early adopters often gain a head start, though.

Not a replacement for SEO

Use llms.txt to complement—not replace—content quality, site structure, and standards like robots.txt and sitemap.xml.

Privacy and security

Only include pages you’re comfortable exposing to AI systems for indexing and analysis.

Conclusion

llms.txt is a community-driven way to make websites more legible to AI tools and services. Implementing this small file now can help future-proof your site and improve visibility in AI-powered discovery. As search evolves, being proactive matters; llms.txt is a small step with the potential for outsized gains.

Partner with me to build your custom llms.txt

If you’re a small business owner or marketer who wants your website ready for AI-driven discovery, I can help. I create tailored llms.txt files and handle the technical details so you don’t have to.

Services include

• Custom llms.txt creation: Site audit, page selection (home, services, blog, product categories), and a precise, business-specific file.
• Implementation and deployment: Upload, server configuration, and validation to ensure correct access and no broken links.
• Ongoing updates: Maintenance as your site evolves, keeping your file aligned with new pages and content.
• AI discoverability consulting: How llms.txt complements SEO, information architecture, and content strategy.

Why partner with me

• Save time and reduce technical risk.
• Get a thoughtfully optimized file, not a generic auto-generated output.
• Stay ahead of competitors who haven’t adopted llms.txt yet.
• Work with a partner who understands both AI trends and web architecture.

Get started

Ready to give your business a voice in the AI-powered web?
Let’s create your custom llms.txt
— or email
studio@alettlewis.com.