GUIDE llms.txt · AI crawler readiness · 2026
llms.txt,
explained.
A proposed format: a plain-text file listing your key pages for the AI tools and agents that read it.
Google Search does not use llms.txt, so treat it as optional documentation work. Here’s what llms.txt is, how it differs from robots.txt, what goes in it, and how to make one in minutes.
$ curate · optional · root-level /llms.txt
$ cat llms.txt
# Your Company H1 = site name
> One-line summary of what you do. the blurb
## Docs section
- [Getting started](/docs/start): setup in 5 min
- [API reference](/docs/api): endpoints + auth
## About section
- [How it works](/how-it-works)
$
definition
llms.txt is a proposed format: a plain-text Markdown file at the root of your domain (/llms.txt) that gives AI tools and agents a curated index of your key pages and how they’re organized.
01 · the distinction
llms.txt vs robots.txt
The single most common confusion. They do different jobs, and only robots.txt controls crawling.
robots.txt
Gates access
Tells crawlers what they may and may not crawl. It’s about exclusion and access control.
llms.txt
Indexes key pages
Lists the pages you consider most important, for the AI tools and agents that read it. It’s optional documentation work.
02
What goes in an llms.txt
It’s Markdown, and the format is simple:
- # Site name: a single H1 with your brand/site name.
- > Summary: a one-line blockquote describing what you do.
- ## Sections: H2 groupings (Docs, Product, About…).
- - [Links](/url): note, one line for each of your most important pages, with a short description.
Keep it curated: a short highlight reel of your best, most useful pages, each with a one-line note. Some sites also publish an llms-full.txt with expanded content.
03 · the build
How to create an llms.txt
Three steps. Or skip to the generator and do it in two minutes.
-
01
List your best pages
Pick the pages you’d want an AI to send people to: docs, key product/solution pages, your strongest guides.
-
02
Write the map
Add the H1 name, a one-line summary, H2 sections, and each link with a short note on what it covers.
-
03
Publish at the root
Serve it as plain text at /llms.txt, and keep it updated as your best content changes.
04 · the honest part
Does llms.txt actually help?
Straight answer: not in Google Search. Google’s guidance says Search ignores llms.txt, so the file will neither harm nor help your visibility or rankings there, AI Overviews and AI Mode included. Other AI tools and agents may read it. Treat it as optional documentation work: a curated index of your key pages for the tools that use one.
On this site, which publishes no llms.txt, 84% of Google AI-feature impressions in Search Console over the three months to mid-September 2026 went to glossary pages: ordinary indexed pages.
The harder work sits on top of that: authority, brand signals across the sources models read, and genuinely citable content. That’s generative engine optimization, which our guide covers; llms.txt is an optional extra.
FAQ
Straight answers
What is llms.txt? +
How is llms.txt different from robots.txt? +
Where do I put llms.txt? +
Does llms.txt help SEO or AI rankings? +
Is anyone actually using llms.txt yet? +
two-minute job
Need an
llms.txt?
If the AI tools you care about read one, the free generator drafts it from your sitemap. Edit, copy or download.