llms.txt explained: should your website have one?

Updated 3 October 2026 · 7 min read

llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file that sits on your website and gives AI tools a short, tidy summary of what the site is and where its important pages are. Many guides call it essential for AI visibility. It is not. As of 2026, no major AI company has confirmed that its search systems read the file, and several studies of website server logs found crawlers never asking for it. This guide explains what it is, what the evidence shows, how to write one if you want to, and what is worth doing first.

The short answer

llms.txt is a proposal from 2024, not an official standard. It is a Markdown file at the root of your site (yoursite.com/llms.txt) that summarises the site and links to key pages.
No major AI provider has publicly confirmed that its systems use it, Google’s John Mueller has said that none of the AI services have said they use it, and server-log studies found AI crawlers fetching robots.txt but not llms.txt.
So it is a low-cost optional extra, not a ranking factor and not a shortcut. It is more useful on software documentation sites than on a professional’s one-page website.
If your website tool creates one for you, fine. If you would have to write and host one by hand, do it after the things that matter more: letting the crawlers in, a clear title, structured data, consistent listings and real answers to client questions.
Never put in it anything that is not also on your visible page, and never use it to stuff in claims.

What llms.txt is

In September 2024, Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI proposed adding a file called llms.txt to the root of a website. The idea is simple. Large language models have limited room to read, and web pages are full of menus, scripts and adverts, so a short, clean, Markdown summary could help an AI tool find the right pages quickly. The proposal is published at llmstxt.org.

The proposed format is plain Markdown, in a set order: a heading with the name of the site (the only required part), a short summary in a quotation block, optional paragraphs of detail, and then sections made of lists of links, each with a short note about what it points to. A section called “Optional” marks material that can be skipped when space is short. A longer companion file, often called llms-full.txt, can hold the full text of the important pages in one place.

What it is not

robots.txt, sitemaps and llms.txt compared
File	What it does	Who reads it
robots.txt	Tells crawlers which parts of your site they may or may not visit	Search crawlers, and the AI crawlers whose companies document that they follow it
sitemap.xml	Lists the pages you want search engines to know about	Search engines, which use it to discover and re-check pages
llms.txt	A proposed summary of the site for AI tools, with links to key pages	No major AI provider has confirmed that it reads it

It does not grant or deny access, so it cannot get you into AI answers or keep you out of them; robots.txt does that. It is not a sitemap. And it is not a ranking signal for Google, which has said that no extra files or markup are needed for its AI features.

Does it work? What the evidence says

Providers: as of 2026, none of the big AI companies has publicly confirmed that its retrieval systems consume the file.
Google: John Mueller, a Google search representative, has said publicly that none of the AI services have said they use llms.txt, and that server logs show they do not even check for it.
Server logs: several independent studies of real sites, over periods of about two weeks to two months, found AI crawlers requesting robots.txt hundreds of times and llms.txt never, or almost never.
Correlation: analyses looking for a link between having the file and being cited by AI found none.

That is the honest picture. It could change: a provider might start to use the file, and the format was designed mainly with software documentation in mind, where it may be more useful. But today there is no good evidence that adding one will make an AI assistant mention you. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.

So should a professional bother?

It depends on how much effort it takes.

If your website tool generates one automatically, leave it on. It costs nothing and might help in future.
If you can add one in ten minutes, it is harmless, and a tidy summary is also a good exercise: if you cannot say what your site is in a paragraph, a client cannot either.
If it would cost money, a developer’s time or a plugin, skip it for now and spend the effort on the list below.

How to write one

Here is an example for an invented physiotherapist in Zurich. Keep it short, factual and identical in substance to what is on your visible page.

An example llms.txt for a professional (invented person and details)

# Marta Keller, Physiotherapist in Zurich

> Marta Keller is a physiotherapist in Zurich, Switzerland, treating sports injuries, back pain and post-operative rehabilitation. She has practised since 2011 and sees patients in German, English and Italian.

Appointments are available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, at Bahnhofstrasse 12, 8001 Zurich.

## Services

- [Sports injuries](https://example.com/#services): assessment and treatment of muscle, tendon and joint injuries
- [Back and neck pain](https://example.com/#services): assessment, manual therapy and exercise programmes
- [Rehabilitation after surgery](https://example.com/#services): guided recovery plans

## About

- [About Marta](https://example.com/#about): qualifications, registration and experience
- [Frequently asked questions](https://example.com/#faq): fees, insurance, what to bring

## Contact

- [Book or contact](https://example.com/#contact): phone, email and booking link

Steps

Start with a heading that matches your page title: your name, profession and city.
Write one summary paragraph: who you are, what you do, for whom, where and since when. Use the same facts as your page.
Add your address and hours if clients visit you.
List your key pages or sections as links, each with a short note.
Save it as plain text named llms.txt and publish it at the root of your site, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt.
Open it in a browser to check it works, and check it again whenever your details change.

Where it has to live

The proposal puts the file at the root of your domain. Many website builders do not let you add a file there, and a page that lives under someone else’s address, such as a profile at a builder’s domain, cannot put a file at the root of that domain. Some platforms get around this by publishing a summary file for each page. If you cannot publish one at your root, do not worry: it is the lowest-value item on this list.

What to put in it, and what to leave out

Do put plain facts that are also on your page: name, profession, city, services, hours, how to book.
Do keep it short. A page or less.
Do not put claims that are not on your visible page, such as awards or results you do not show. If a fact is worth stating, state it on the page.
Do not stuff keywords or use it to hide text. It breaks the spirit of the file and helps no one.
Do not include private details or anything you would not publish.

What to do first instead

If your goal is to be found by AI assistants, these matter more than llms.txt, in roughly this order:

Make sure the crawlers can reach your site. Check your robots.txt and any bot-protection setting. See what GEO is.
Put your name, profession and city in your page title and first screen.
Add structured data that states your facts in a form machines read exactly.
Keep your name, address and phone number identical on your website, your Google listing and your profiles. See how to get on Google Maps.
Answer the questions clients really ask, in plain words, on the page.
Earn mentions on reputable sites: your professional body, local directories, local press.

How BeVisible handles it

BeVisible publishes a plain-text summary for each page, made from the same facts as your page, at bevisible.site/yourname/llms.txt, and a site-wide summary at bevisible.site/llms.txt. We do this because it costs you nothing and might help in future, not because we can show it improves anyone’s ranking. It is one small part of a page that is also set up with a clear title, structured data and open crawler access. You can build and preview free, and publish free for 7 days with no card needed; after that one yearly plan keeps a website online, and one plan covers one website. You can start from a photo or type your details.

Frequently asked questions

What is llms.txt?

A proposed plain-text Markdown file, placed at the root of a website, that summarises the site and links to its most important pages for AI tools. It was proposed in September 2024 by Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI. It is not an official standard.

Do ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity use llms.txt?

No major provider has publicly confirmed that it does. Google has said that none of the AI services have said they use it, and studies of server logs found AI crawlers fetching robots.txt but not llms.txt. This could change.

Will llms.txt improve my AI visibility or Google rankings?

There is no good evidence that it will. Google says no extra files are needed for its AI features, and analyses found no link between having the file and being cited. Treat it as an optional extra, after the basics.

Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?

No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may or may not visit. llms.txt is a proposed summary of your site for AI tools. It does not grant or block access.

How do I create an llms.txt file?

Write a Markdown file with a heading naming your site, a short summary paragraph, and sections of links with brief notes, then publish it at the root of your domain so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. Keep it short and consistent with your page.

Can it hurt?

Not if it is accurate and short. The risk is adding claims that are not on your visible page, or letting it go out of date. Keep it consistent with your page and update it when your details change.