What is llms.txt?

Large language models struggle with ordinary web pages: navigation, cookie banners, scripts and adverts get in the way of the content. llms.txt is a proposal to give them a clean shortcut, a plain Markdown file at /llms.txt that says what the site is and where the best content lives.

Where llms.txt came from

The format was proposed in September 2024 by Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI. It's published at llmstxt.org. It isn't an official web standard from a standards body, and it isn't controlled by any search engine or AI company.

What an llms.txt file looks like

# Example Co

> Example Co makes waterproof outdoor gear. This file lists our most useful guides and product information.

Example Co ships to the US and Canada. All products have a 60-day return policy.

## Guides

- [How to choose trail shoes](https://example.com/guides/trail-shoes.md): fit, grip and waterproofing explained
- [Sizing guide](https://example.com/sizing.md): measurements for every product

## Products

- [Trail Runner 2](https://example.com/products/trail-runner-2.md): waterproof trail shoe

## Optional

- [Company history](https://example.com/about.md)

The structure:

1. An H1 with the site or project name (the only required part).
2. A blockquote with a short summary.
3. Optional paragraphs with key details.
4. H2 sections with lists of links, each with an optional description.
5. An "Optional" section for links that can be skipped when space is short.

The proposal also suggests offering Markdown versions of pages (the same address with .md added) and an llms-full.txt file containing all the content in one place.

llms.txt vs robots.txt

llms.txt doesn't block or allow anything. To control AI crawlers, use robots.txt.

Does llms.txt help SEO?

Honestly: not for Google. Google has said it doesn't use llms.txt for Search, and it has no effect on rankings. No major AI search provider has confirmed it uses the file when choosing what to cite.

Where it does help today:

• AI coding and documentation tools, many of which read llms.txt to load a project's docs.
• Agents and assistants that fetch a site on a user's behalf and look for a quick summary.
• Future-proofing: it's a small, cheap file to maintain.

If you run a software product or documentation site, it's worth having. For other sites, it's a low-effort extra rather than a priority.

How to check an llms.txt file

Enter a site in the checker on this page. It fetches /llms.txt, checks the structure against the proposal (H1, summary, sections, valid links), and tests whether the linked pages load. If you don't have one yet, see how to create llms.txt.