Guide
llms.txt: what it is, whether you need it, and a template
llms.txt is a proposed file that gives AI tools a short, clean map of your site. It is cheap to add and easy to overrate. Here is the honest state of play in November 2026, and a template if you decide to publish one.
Visibility · EngageKey takeaways
- llms.txt is a Markdown file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that summarizes your site and links to the pages that matter, for AI tools to read.
- It was proposed in September 2024 by Jeremy Howard. It is a community proposal, not a standard any search engine or AI company has adopted for ranking.
- No major AI company has publicly said its assistant or crawler uses llms.txt files on other sites. Google says you do not need special AI files to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode.
- It costs about 30 minutes, so publishing one is low risk. Just do not expect it to change whether AI answers name you.
- The work that does move AI visibility is crawl access, clear pages, consistent facts and reviews.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a plain Markdown file you place at the root of your site (yoursite.com/llms.txt) that gives large language models a short summary of what your site is and a list of links to its most useful pages. It was proposed by Jeremy Howard on September 3, 2024, and the proposal lives at llmstxt.org. It is optional, and as of November 2026 no major AI company has said its assistants rely on it.
The idea is reasonable. Web pages are full of menus, scripts and ads, and AI tools have limited room to read. A short, clean file could tell them what matters. Think of it as a curated table of contents written for machines.
It is not robots.txt. llms.txt does not allow or block anything. It is also not a sitemap: a sitemap lists every URL for crawling, while llms.txt picks a few and explains them.
| File | What it does | Who reads it | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| robots.txt | Tells crawlers what they may and may not fetch | Search engines and AI crawlers, by their own published rules | Yes. Check it allows the search crawlers you want. |
| sitemap.xml | Lists the URLs you want crawled and indexed | Google, Bing and other search engines | Yes, for any site with more than a few pages. |
| llms.txt | Summarizes your site and links key pages in Markdown | No major AI company has said it reads it | Optional. Low cost, uncertain benefit. |
The llms.txt format, line by line
The proposal sets out a simple order (llmstxt.org):
- An H1 with the site or business name
This is the only required part. One line starting with "# ".
- A blockquote summary
One or two lines starting with "> " that say what you are and who you serve.
- Optional detail
Plain paragraphs or lists with key facts. No headings in this part.
- H2 sections with link lists
Each section starts with "## " and lists links as Markdown links (the name in square brackets, then the URL in round brackets), optionally followed by a colon and a short note.
- An "Optional" section
An H2 called "Optional" for secondary links that a tool can skip when it needs less context.
The proposal also suggests offering clean Markdown versions of important pages, at the same URL with .md added. That is more work and mostly useful for documentation sites, not a local business.
- 01Tool visits siteFor a user or an index
- 02Reads /llms.txtIf it looks for one
- 03Gets summaryWho you are, what you do
- 04Follows key linksServices, locations, FAQs
- 05Uses the factsIn an answer or a task
This is the intended flow. Whether a given assistant does step 2 is the open question.
Which AI companies say they read llms.txt?
As of November 2026, none of the major AI assistant companies has publicly said that its crawlers or assistants use llms.txt files on other people's sites. Here is what the public record shows, with links so you can check for updates.
What each company has said, as of November 2026
Google Search Central says no new machine-readable files or AI text files are needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Google's John Mueller has said no AI system currently uses llms.txt, and later called it "purely speculative for now".
Its crawler documentation explains OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot and ChatGPT-User and how robots.txt controls them. It publishes an llms.txt for its own docs, but does not say its crawlers read llms.txt on other sites.
Its crawler page recommends allowing PerplexityBot in robots.txt to appear in results. It publishes an llms.txt for its own docs, but does not say PerplexityBot reads yours.
Its help article describes ClaudeBot, Claude-User and Claude-SearchBot and how to control them with robots.txt. It does not mention llms.txt.
- Sep 2024
Jeremy Howard proposes llms.txt at llmstxt.org.
- Jun 2025
Google's John Mueller says no AI system currently uses llms.txt (Search Engine Roundtable).
- Jul 2025
An SEO reports server logs showing OpenAI fetching llms.txt files; OpenAI has not confirmed it, and Google's Gary Illyes is reported saying Google does not support the file (Search Engine Roundtable).
- Jun 2026
Mueller calls llms.txt "purely speculative for now". Chrome's Lighthouse includes an llms.txt check in an agent-focused audit, describing it as an emerging convention (Search Engine Journal).
- Aug 2026
The llmstxt.org proposal page is updated (version 2).
Some vendors say llms.txt "gets you into ChatGPT". We could not find any AI company that says so. A file being fetched in server logs is not the same as it being used to choose what an answer says.
Does your business need an llms.txt file?
Probably not urgently. For a local business or a brand with locations, the AI answers that matter are built from your pages, your Google Business Profile, listings and reviews. llms.txt does not change any of those. It may help AI agents and coding tools that look for it, which matters most for software and documentation sites.
- Can AI search crawlers reach your site (robots.txt and firewall allow them)?NoFix that first. It matters far more than llms.txt.Yes
- Do your key pages state your facts in plain text?NoFix your pages first. llms.txt only points to them.Yes
- Are you a software, docs or content-heavy site that AI agents use directly?NoOptional. Publish one if it takes you under an hour, then move on.YesWorth doing. Add Markdown versions of your key docs too.
For most local businesses, the honest answer is "optional, low priority".
llms.txt template for a local business
If you decide to publish one, here is a template that follows the llmstxt.org format. We do not have an llms.txt generator on this site yet, so copy this, fill in the braces and save it as a plain text file named llms.txt.
# {Business name}
> {Business name} is a {category, e.g. family dental practice} serving {area} from {number} locations. We offer {top 3 services}. Open {days and hours summary}.
Key facts:
- Phone: {main phone}
- Booking: {booking URL}
- Payment and insurance: {what you accept}
- Languages spoken: {languages}
## Services
- [{Service 1}](https://www.yoursite.com/{service-1}/): {one line on what it is and who it is for}
- [{Service 2}](https://www.yoursite.com/{service-2}/): {one line}
- [{Service 3}](https://www.yoursite.com/{service-3}/): {one line}
## Locations
- [{Location 1 name}](https://www.yoursite.com/locations/{location-1}/): {street address}, {hours}
- [{Location 2 name}](https://www.yoursite.com/locations/{location-2}/): {street address}, {hours}
## Policies and FAQs
- [Frequently asked questions](https://www.yoursite.com/faq/): parking, cancellations, first visit
- [Pricing](https://www.yoursite.com/pricing/): {what the page covers}
## Optional
- [About us](https://www.yoursite.com/about/): history and team
- [Blog](https://www.yoursite.com/blog/): guides and newsReplace yoursite.com and the paths with your real page addresses (full https URLs). Keep the facts identical to your Google Business Profile and location pages. Update it when hours, services or locations change.
Before you publish llms.txt
What moves AI visibility more than llms.txt
If your goal is to be named in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Google AI Overviews, these come first. Our generative engine optimization guide covers each one, and how to improve brand visibility in AI answer engines puts them in order.
- Crawl access. Allow the search crawlers of the assistants your buyers use.
- Pages that answer questions. One page per service and per location, with the facts in plain text. See location pages for SEO.
- Structured data. Schema markup that matches what the page says. Our local business schema guide shows how.
- Consistent facts. The same name, address, phone and hours on your site, profile and directories.
- Reviews. Steady, specific reviews with replies.
Mistakes to avoid
- Paying for an llms.txt "optimization" service
Instead: Write the file yourself in 30 minutes with the template, or skip it. Spend the budget on pages and listings.
- Putting facts in llms.txt that are not on your site
Instead: Keep every fact in llms.txt identical to a live page. Conflicting facts make you harder to trust.
- Treating llms.txt as access control
Instead: It does not block anything. Use robots.txt to control crawlers.
- Publishing and forgetting it
Instead: Add it to the same update routine as your hours and locations, or remove it.
The free AI visibility checker shows whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude recommend your business and who they pick instead. Run it before and after any change.
Know what the engines actually readVisibility by Locus Intelligence records the sources behind each AI answer for your locations, so you fix what is used rather than guess.
AI visibility checkerFree, no account. You get whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude name you, how they describe you, and who they pick instead.
Your next steps
Today
- Check yoursite.com/robots.txt for blocks on AI search crawlers.
- Run the free AI visibility checker to get a baseline.
This week
- If you want one, fill in the llms.txt template and publish it at your root.
- Add LocalBusiness schema with the schema generator.
This month
- Check llmstxt.org and the AI companies' crawler pages for any change in support.
- Work through how to improve brand visibility in AI answer engines.
Frequently asked questions
What is llms.txt used for?
It is a proposed Markdown file that summarizes a site and links its key pages for AI tools. As of November 2026, no major AI company has said its assistants use it on other sites.
Does ChatGPT read llms.txt?
OpenAI has not said so. Its crawler documentation covers OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot and ChatGPT-User and how robots.txt controls them. Some site owners have seen llms.txt fetched in logs, but OpenAI has not confirmed it uses the file.
Does Google use llms.txt?
Google says you do not need AI text files to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and Google staff have said it does not use llms.txt. Chrome Lighthouse does include an llms.txt check in an agent-focused audit.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may fetch. llms.txt only describes your site and links pages. It cannot block anything.
Can llms.txt hurt my SEO?
There is no sign that it does. Keep its facts identical to your site so you are not publishing conflicting information.
Where do I put llms.txt?
At the root of your domain, so it loads at yoursite.com/llms.txt, as a plain UTF-8 text file.
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