llms.txt is a Markdown text file. It sits at the web path `/llms.txt` in the root directory of the website. It was proposed in 2024 by Answer.AI so that an AI can understand a website faster.
Why do you need it?
For that, you first have to understand how an AI works. An AI works with what's called a context. This context is the knowledge available to the AI for a given task.
An example: You ask an AI to do a simple math calculation. Everything that goes into the answer is the context. And that context is limited.
That's why llms.txt was created. Instead of processing the entire website with tons of useless data, the AI reads a short, clean summary. That's simpler, faster and fits into the limited context.
What does such a file look like?
Markdown, nothing more. It starts with the company name as a heading, followed by one or two sentences about what it's about. Then come sections with links to the important pages, each with a short description. If you want more, you also create an `llms-full.txt` containing the complete content.
You can think of it like a table of contents, or like a menu: The AI sees at a glance what's there and where to find it.
What goes in it?
In short, everything someone should know about you. Who's behind it, which services there are, the most important pages, the blog, the contact. No marketing waffle, just clear sentences.
llms.txt, robots.txt, sitemap.xml: not the same thing
The three are often confused, but they do completely different things:
- `robots.txt` tells search engine crawlers what they may and may not do.
- `sitemap.xml` is a list of all the URLs on your website, so search engines don't miss anything.
- `llms.txt` summarizes your content in plain language for AI.
The first two are aimed at search engines, the last one at language models.
An example
It's easiest once you see it. This site has one too: nucez.com/llms.txt. It's worth a look, and it quickly becomes clear how simple the whole thing is.
Do I need this now?
Honestly: llms.txt is still young. It's not an official standard from Google or OpenAI, and not every AI reads it automatically yet. But the effort is small, it can't hurt, and if you're early, you're prepared when it catches on.
Conclusion
In short: llms.txt is your website's user manual for AI. It costs little and makes it easy for an AI to understand you correctly.
Why this matters in the bigger picture is covered in SEO is no longer enough: Now GEO counts too. And if you want to know whether your website is readable for AI, take a look at my SEO and GEO analysis. For a first impression in seconds, try the free AI check.
Running a JTL-Shop? How to set up llms.txt, AI bots and product data there step by step is covered in Make your JTL-Shop visible to AI.