llms.txt: Does my website need it?

For most business websites, llms.txt is not a must today. The file is a proposal for how websites can offer AI models a clear summary of their most important content. It is not an official standard, and Google has said it does not use it for search. It does no harm and is quick to set up. But good content and a clean technical setup matter more for your visibility in AI answers.

What llms.txt is

llms.txt is a text file in Markdown format that sits in the root directory of a website, i.e. at your-domain.com/llms.txt. It contains a short description of the company and a list of the most important pages, each with a one-sentence explanation. The idea dates from 2024: instead of having to read the entire website with its menu, cookie banner and ads, language models get a tidy overview.

The difference from robots.txt is important. robots.txt controls what crawlers are allowed to do. llms.txt neither allows nor forbids anything; it is merely an offer.

Who actually uses llms.txt

The file is mainly found on software companies’ sites that prepare developer documentation for AI assistants. Whether major AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini evaluate it when retrieving websites normally has not been reliably established. Google has publicly come out against using it for search. So an llms.txt does not make your company appear in AI answers.

When llms.txt is still worth it

• You have extensive documentation, price lists or product data that customers query with AI assistants.
• Your website is technically hard to read, for example because a lot of content only loads via JavaScript.
• You want to be prepared with little effort in case the proposal catches on.

For a typical website with service pages, case studies and a contact page, the benefit is small. But so is the effort: a simple llms.txt can be created in an hour.

What a simple llms.txt looks like

# Example Company Ltd
> Electrical installation and photovoltaics for commercial customers in the Rhine-Main region.

## Services
- [Commercial photovoltaics](https://example-company.com/photovoltaics/): planning, installation, maintenance from 30 kWp
- [Electrical installation](https://example-company.com/electrical/): new builds and renovation

## Company
- [Case studies](https://example-company.com/case-studies/)
- [Contact](https://example-company.com/contact/)

Keep the file short, up to date and consistent with the website. Contradictions between llms.txt and page content do more harm than the file does good.

What does more than llms.txt

1. Content that answers specific questions in the first sentence.
2. Pages that are fast and readable without JavaScript.
3. Structured data for your business, services and reviews.
4. Consistent company details in directories and profiles.

Related reading: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): How is it different from SEO? and AI SEO: How do ChatGPT and others recommend my company?

FAQ

How do I create an llms.txt in WordPress?

Create the file as a plain text file and upload it via FTP or your host’s file manager to the website’s root directory, where robots.txt also sits. Some SEO plugins now offer a feature that generates an llms.txt automatically from your pages. Afterwards, check in your browser that the file can be reached at your-domain.com/llms.txt and only lists pages you actually want to show.

What is the difference between llms.txt and llms-full.txt?

llms.txt is a short table of contents with links to your most important pages. llms-full.txt, by contrast, contains the full text of those pages in a single file. It is mainly intended for extensive documentation; for a typical business website, the short version is enough.

How can I see whether AI crawlers are fetching my llms.txt?

Your server’s access logs show this; you can view or request them from your host. Look for requests for the file and for the user agents of well-known AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot. Analytics tools like Google Analytics don’t record these requests, because crawlers don’t run tracking scripts.

When to hand this over

• You want to know whether and how your company appears in AI answers but have no way of measuring it.
• Your website is technically complex and nobody can say what crawlers actually see.
• You want to bring AI visibility and classic SEO together in one plan.

Find out more about our approach on our page about AI in marketing. Check your site for free beforehand with the Meta Tag & Schema Inspector.