llms.txt: what the file does, what it doesn't, and how to create one

In short: llms.txt is a plain Markdown file at yoursite.com/llms.txt. It tells language models in a few lines who you are and which pages matter most, with a link and a short note for each. It does not influence Google: Google states that Search ignores the file and that it has no effect on rankings or AI Overviews. Whether ChatGPT or Perplexity use it for their answers has not been confirmed. We create it on every website because it costs almost nothing, but we don't sell it as a way into AI answers.

Hardly any GEO topic has as many myths as this one. Some agencies offer llms.txt as a separate package. This article shows what the file is meant to do, what the evidence says and how to write a good one in a few minutes.

What is llms.txt?

Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI proposed the file on 3 September 2024. The spec lives at llmstxt.org and is now titled “The /llms.txt file, v2”. The idea: a language model that reads your site while answering a question has little time and limited context. Instead of working through menus, cookie banners and scripts, it reads a short summary with links to the important content.

The file sits in the root, like robots.txt, or in a subfolder such as /docs/llms.txt for that part of the site. Unlike robots.txt it doesn't allow or block anything. Unlike sitemap.xml it doesn't list every URL, only a curated selection.

How is an llms.txt file structured?

The spec defines a fixed order. Only the first part is required:

Version 2 adds a convention: pages that agents need should also exist as clean Markdown at the same address with .md appended. A page can point to these versions with a link tag of type text/markdown.

What does a good llms.txt look like?

Here is a shortened example for a fictional joinery workshop in Graz:

# Tischlerei Muster
> Joinery in Graz since [year]. Kitchens, wardrobes and stairs made of local wood for private and business clients in Styria.
## Services
- [Custom kitchens](https://www.example.at/kuechen): planning, production and fitting, delivery time 8–12 weeks
- [Stairs](https://www.example.at/treppen): oak and larch, measured on site
## Company
- [About us](https://www.example.at/ueber-uns): team, workshop, training
- [Contact](https://www.example.at/kontakt): address, opening hours, phone
## Optional
- [Blog](https://www.example.at/blog): care tips and projects

Use the same facts as on your website and Google Business Profile: same name, same address, same services. A file that contradicts the website does more harm than good. Our own file is live at 404media.at/llms.txt and is generated from the same data as the website, so it can never fall out of date.

What is llms-full.txt?

llms-full.txt is not part of the official spec, but documentation platforms such as Mintlify generate it automatically. It contains the full text of all pages in one file, so an AI tool can load everything in one go. That makes sense for technical documentation. Anthropic's llms-full.txt for its developer docs is around 45 MB. For a company website with twenty pages it adds nothing.

Does Google use llms.txt?

No. In its guide to generative AI features, Google writes that you don't need machine-readable files, AI text files, markup or Markdown to appear in Google Search. On 15 June 2026 Google added a clarification: these files aren't needed for Google Search and won't negatively or positively impact your visibility or rankings. Keeping one for other services is fine.

John Mueller of Google called llms.txt “purely speculative for now” in June 2026. In 2025 he had already compared it to the keywords meta tag, which Google has ignored for years.

Do ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity read llms.txt?

No provider has confirmed that its search crawler uses llms.txt to choose sources. OpenAI documents OAI-SearchBot as the crawler for ChatGPT search, and it reads normal web pages. The available data points the same way:

• No effect on citations: SE Ranking examined around 300,000 domains. About 10 % had an llms.txt. The model predicting AI citations became more accurate when the file was removed as a factor.
• Few requests: Server log analyses published by monitoring providers in 2026 found only a tiny share of AI bot traffic requesting /llms.txt. The figures come from vendors and are indicative only.

What does get you into AI answers is described in our guide Get cited by ChatGPT: open doors for the crawlers, answer-first content, consistent facts and mentions on other websites.

When is llms.txt worth it?

Our advice: create it, keep it accurate, and spend your time on the things that work. Which ones those are for your business is shown by our free AI visibility check.

How to create an llms.txt in five steps

1. Write the H1 with your company name and a two-sentence summary: what you do, for whom, where.
2. Pick your 5 to 15 most important pages: services, prices, locations, about, contact.
3. Add one factual note per link, such as price range, delivery time or region.
4. Save the file as UTF-8 text named llms.txt in the root of your website.
5. Open yoursite.com/llms.txt in the browser and check every link once.

WordPress plugins such as Yoast SEO can generate the file. On sites we build, it comes from the same content as the pages and updates itself.

Written byChristoph SpeiserProject lead & sales

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