Guide
What is llms.txt?
Updated 14 September 2026
llms.txt is a small plain text file you put at the root of your website. It tells AI assistants what your business does and which pages are worth reading. Think of it as a short introduction written for a machine instead of a visitor.
Why it exists
When ChatGPT, Claude or Perplexity reads a website, it has to guess what matters. Menus, cookie banners and marketing pages all look the same to a machine. A site with fifty pages can be summarised from the wrong one.
llms.txt removes the guessing. You write, in your own words, what you do, who you serve, where you operate, and which pages carry the real answers.
Where to place the file
At the root of your domain, so it loads at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It sits next to robots.txt. Open that address in a browser after uploading. If you see the text, it is live.
What goes in it
- A one-line description. What your business does, in the words a customer would use.
- Location and service area. Where you work, if that matters to a buyer.
- Key pages with links. Services, pricing, contact, and anything that answers a common question.
- A short line per link. Say what the page answers, not just its title.
- Facts, not slogans. Opening hours, years in business, certifications. Skip words like leading or best.
Does llms.txt help SEO?
Not directly. Google has not said it uses the file for ranking, and you should not expect a position change from adding it. Its value is different: it helps AI assistants describe your business correctly when someone asks about your category.
That is worth doing on its own. It takes a few minutes and it cannot hurt your search results.
llms.txt and robots.txt are not the same
robots.txt controls permission. It says which crawlers may read which pages. If it blocks GPTBot or ClaudeBot, no llms.txt file will help, because the assistant never gets in.
Check permission first, then add the description. Our free crawler checker shows in seconds whether your site blocks the AI crawlers.
Common questions
- What is an llms.txt file?
- A plain text file placed at the root of your website that lists what your business does and which pages matter most, written so AI assistants can read it quickly.
- Where do I place the llms.txt file?
- At the root of your domain, so it loads at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It sits next to robots.txt.
- Will llms.txt help my SEO?
- Not directly. Google does not use it for ranking. It helps AI assistants summarise your site correctly, which is a different goal from a search ranking.
- Is llms.txt an official standard?
- It is a community proposal, not a rule set by any search engine. Some AI tools read it, others do not. It costs little to add and does no harm.
- How is llms.txt different from robots.txt?
- robots.txt says which pages a crawler may read. llms.txt says what your site is about and which pages are worth reading.
Build your llms.txt file free
Paste your address and the generator writes the file from your real pages. Copy it, upload it, done.