llms.txt explained: the new standard for AI findability
llms.txt is a simple markdown file on your domain (at /llms.txt) that gives AI assistants a concise, curated guide to your site: who you are, what you do and links to your key pages, cases and articles. It's the AI equivalent of robots.txt + sitemap, but readable and summarising. Not yet a hard ranking factor, but a cheap, future-facing step that helps AI understand and cite you accurately.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a proposed standard (llmstxt.org): a markdown file at yourdomain.com/llms.txt with a short description of your organisation and structured links to your best content. Where a sitemap lists all URLs for crawlers, llms.txt gives a curated summary in human language — handy for language models that want to understand you fast.
Why it's emerging
AI assistants have a limited 'window' and can't read your whole site. An llms.txt points them straight to what matters, with context. It's early — not every AI uses it yet — but it takes little effort and fits perfectly into a broader AEO approach.
What it looks like
A title (H1), a short summary as a blockquote, then sections with links:
- # Company name + one line on what you do.
- ## Pages — your core services with short descriptions.
- ## Cases and ## Journal — your strongest proof and articles.
- ## Contact — email and website.
Keep it concise and current: it's a guide, not an archive.
How to set it up
Generate the file (manually or automatically from your CMS) and serve it as plain text at /llms.txt. With a framework like Next.js you can build it dynamically from your published pages and posts, so it's always accurate. We include this by default in our SEO/AEO projects.
Frequently asked questions
Is llms.txt mandatory or official?
No, it's an emerging, voluntary standard. Not every AI uses it yet, but the cost is low and the direction is clear.
Does llms.txt replace my sitemap or robots.txt?
No. robots.txt controls access, sitemap.xml lists URLs for crawlers, and llms.txt gives AI a readable guide. They complement each other.
What do I put in it?
Your core pages, best cases and key articles, with a short description per item — plus who you are and how to reach you.
Do I need to maintain it?
Ideally yes. Best is a dynamically generated file that moves with your published content, so it never goes stale.
Ready to start?
Read our approach to SEO & AEO, or book a short intro call — we'll take a no-obligation look and give you an honest estimate of scope, cost and timeline.