What is llms.txt?

Why llms.txt matters for AI search

AI assistants and answer engines increasingly read the web to answer questions. A clear llms.txt gives them a curated, unambiguous summary of who you are and where your best content lives — improving how accurately ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini represent and cite your business. It’s a core part of Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).

llms.txt template (copy & paste)

Here’s a simple llms.txt template. Replace the placeholders with your own details, save it as llms.txt, and upload it to your site root.

# Your Company Name

> One or two sentences describing what your business does, who it’s for, and what makes it distinct.

## Key pages
- Home: https://example.com
- About: https://example.com/about
- Products / Services: https://example.com/services
- Contact: https://example.com/contact

## Key facts
- What you do: ...
- Who you serve: ...
- Where you operate: ...

## Contact
- Email: hello@example.com

How to create and add an llms.txt

• Start with an H1 (#) of your business name.
• Add a one-line summary in a blockquote (>) — what you do, for whom.
• List your key pages with absolute URLs.
• Add key facts (services, location) and contact details.
• Save the file as llms.txt (plain text / Markdown).
• Upload it to your domain root so it serves at yourdomain.com/llms.txt.

Check your llms.txt (free)

Not sure if yours is set up correctly? Aveena’s free AI readiness checker detects whether your llms.txt exists and is valid, alongside your structured data, entities and overall AI search readiness — with a prioritised action list.

llms.txt frequently asked questions

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a plain-text (Markdown) file placed at the root of your domain (yourdomain.com/llms.txt) that tells large language models what your website is about and points them to your most important content. It’s an emerging standard — similar to robots.txt, but written for AI systems rather than search-engine crawlers.

Do I need an llms.txt file?

If you want AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Gemini to represent your business accurately, an llms.txt helps. It gives AI a concise, curated summary and clear links, reducing the chance it misunderstands or overlooks you. It’s optional today but increasingly valuable as AI search grows.

How do I create an llms.txt file?

Create a plain-text file named llms.txt using Markdown: start with an H1 of your business name, a one-line summary in a blockquote, then sections listing your key pages, key facts and contact details. Upload it to your site root so it’s served at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. Use the template on this page as a starting point.

What is the difference between llms.txt and robots.txt?

robots.txt tells search-engine crawlers which URLs they may or may not crawl. llms.txt tells AI models what your site is about and where your best content lives, to help them understand and cite you. They serve different purposes and you can (and should) have both.

Where do I put llms.txt?

Place it at the root of your domain so it resolves at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. Aveena checks whether your llms.txt exists and is valid as part of a free AI readiness scan.