llms.txt
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A file published on websites that helps AI language models understand the site's content structure and key information.
llms.txt is a convention for publishing a structured text file that helps AI language models understand your website. Similar to robots.txt (which tells search crawlers what to access), llms.txt tells AI systems what content you have, how it is organized, and what the key information is.
The file typically includes: a description of the company and product, links to important pages (documentation, pricing, blog), and key facts that AI systems should know when answering questions about your product.
As AI systems increasingly mediate how people discover and evaluate products, llms.txt becomes part of the AEO (AI Engine Optimization) toolkit. Companies that provide structured information for AI systems are more likely to be accurately represented in AI-generated responses.
Examples
A developer platform publishes llms.txt.
The file lists: product description, key features, pricing tiers, documentation links, quickstart URL, and a glossary of product-specific terms. When an AI system is asked about the product, it can reference this structured information instead of guessing.
llms.txt improves AI citation accuracy.
Before llms.txt, AI systems sometimes described the product inaccurately. After publishing the file, AI-generated descriptions become more accurate because the systems have a reliable, structured source of truth to reference.
A company adds llms.txt as part of AEO strategy.
The marketing team publishes llms.txt alongside an expanded llms-full.txt that includes blog post summaries, glossary definitions, and product changelog. AI crawlers access these files and begin citing the company's content more frequently.
In practice
Read more on the blog
Frequently asked questions
Is llms.txt an official standard?
Not yet. It is an emerging convention adopted by forward-thinking companies. There is no RFC or W3C standard. The format varies across implementations. But the pattern of providing structured content for AI consumption is gaining traction.
Should every website have an llms.txt file?
Any website that wants to be accurately represented by AI systems should consider it. It is especially valuable for developer tools, SaaS products, and content-heavy sites. The effort is minimal (one text file) and the potential benefit in AI visibility is significant.
Related terms
The practice of optimizing content so that AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude cite and surface it in their responses.
Machine-readable information added to web pages that helps search engines and AI systems understand page content.
Written resources that explain how to use a product, including guides, tutorials, API references, and troubleshooting information.
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