What is llms.txt?
TL;DR
llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at your site's root that provides AI models with a structured summary of your site, key pages, and content priorities.
Last updated: 2026-03-09
Definition#
llms.txt is a proposed standard for communicating with AI models. It is a plain-text file you place at
https://yoursite.com/llms.txt that provides a concise summary of your website. The file includes your site's name, a description of what you do, and a list of your most important URLs with short annotations.
Think of it as robots.txt for AI. While robots.txt tells crawlers what they can access, llms.txt tells AI models what your site is about and what content matters most. It helps AI models accurately represent your brand and cite the right pages.
The spec uses a simple Markdown-like format with a title (#), a blockquote description (>), and a list of URLs with descriptions. There is also an optional companion file called llms-full.txt that can include the full text of your key pages.Why It Matters for AI Readiness#
llms.txt is one of the easiest ways to improve your AI readiness. It takes ten minutes to create and directly helps AI models understand your site. The AgentReady™ scanner checks for llms.txt as part of the AI Protocols factor.
For detailed instructions, see How to Create and Deploy an llms.txt File. For a deep dive into the protocol, see llms.txt Protocol.
Related Concepts#
llms.txt works alongside robots.txt (which controls crawler access), NLWeb (which enables dynamic queries), and MCP (which enables AI actions on your site).
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