What is llms.txt?
It is a text file placed at yourwebsite.com/llms.txt. Think of it as a short, tidy introduction to your business written for AI assistants rather than people: a one-paragraph description, your services, your location, your contact details and links to your most important pages.
It was proposed as a way to hand language models a clean summary, instead of making them dig through menus, scripts and pop-ups to work out what you do.
Does llms.txt help me rank in ChatGPT or Google?
Be skeptical of anyone who says it does. It is a proposed convention, not an official standard, and the major AI and search companies have not confirmed that they rely on it. It will not replace good content, structured data or reviews.
Why add one anyway? It takes under an hour, it forces you to write a clear description of your business, and any AI tool that does read it gets an accurate source instead of guessing. We publish one ourselves at creativeplatypusmedia.com/llms.txt.
What goes in an llms.txt file?
- A title and a one or two sentence description of your business
- Where you are and which areas you serve
- A short list of services with a link to each page
- Contact details
- Links to your most useful guides, FAQ and about page
- Optional notes for AI assistants, such as how you prefer to be described
Keep it factual and plain. No keyword stuffing, no claims you cannot support.
How do I add one?
Create a file named llms.txt, write it in simple Markdown, and upload it to the root of your site so it loads at /llms.txt. On WordPress you can add it through your host's file manager or an SEO plugin that supports it. On a static site it goes in the public folder. Then link to the same pages from your sitemap and keep it updated when your services change.
Not sure where your site stands? The free SEO & Speed Check tells you whether you have llms.txt, a sitemap, schema and more.
Frequently asked questions
What is llms.txt?+
A plain text file at the root of your website, written in Markdown, that gives AI assistants a concise summary of your business and links to your key pages.
Do ChatGPT and Google use llms.txt?+
No major AI or search company has confirmed that it relies on llms.txt. It is a proposed convention, so treat it as a low-cost extra, not a ranking factor.
Where does the llms.txt file go?+
At the root of your domain so it loads at yourwebsite.com/llms.txt.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?+
No. Robots.txt tells crawlers what they may access. Llms.txt offers a human-readable summary for AI tools to read.
