llms.txt in one sentence
llms.txt is a plain-text file at the root of your website (like robots.txt) that gives AI systems a structured overview of your business — who you are, what you do, and what content to read.
Why it exists
When ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude visit your website, they don’t browse it like a human. They need a fast, structured summary of:
- What is this business?
- What services do they offer?
- Where are they located?
- What content is available to read?
- How to contact them?
Without llms.txt, AI systems have to crawl every page and guess. With it, they get the complete picture in one request.
What goes in it
A llms.txt file is written in Markdown (not XML or JSON). The format:
# Your Business Name
> One-sentence description of what you do and where you serve.
## About
- Website: https://yourdomain.com
- Business: Your Business Name (Your Type)
- Location: Your City, State
## Services
- Service 1
- Service 2
- Service 3
## Blog Articles
- [Article Title](https://yourdomain.com/blog/slug)
## Contact
- Phone: (555) 123-4567
- Email: info@yourdomain.comThat’s it. No special encoding, no schema — just readable Markdown.
llms.txt vs llms-full.txt
There are two versions:
llms.txt— a concise overview (500-2000 chars). AI reads this first.llms-full.txt— the complete version with all service descriptions, FAQ answers, pricing details, and every piece of content. Can be 10,000+ chars.
Think of llms.txt as the executive summary and llms-full.txt as the full report.
How to create one
Option A: Manual — Create a file at public/llms.txt in your website’s root directory. Write the Markdown content. Deploy.
Option B: Dynamic — Create a server-side route at /llms.txt that pulls your business info from a database and generates the content automatically. This keeps it always up-to-date.
We use Option B for all WeLead Lab client sites — the llms.txt pulls live data from our KV store, so it always reflects current services, articles, and contact info.
Does it actually work?
Yes. Our AIO checker tests for llms.txt as one of 20 AI readiness signals. Sites with llms.txt consistently score higher on AI search visibility.
The standard was proposed in 2024 by Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI and has been adopted by documentation platforms (Mintlify, GitBook, Fern), developer tools, and increasingly by local business sites.
Check if your site has one
Visit https://yoursite.com/llms.txt in a browser. If you see a 404 page, you don’t have one yet.
Or run our free Website Analyzer — it checks for both llms.txt and llms-full.txt automatically.