What is llms.txt, and does your website need one?
What goes in an llms.txt file, how it differs from a sitemap and robots.txt, and what we can measure.
An llms.txt file is a short Markdown guide at the root of a website, for example site.com/llms.txt. It explains what the business does and points readers or tools to the most useful pages.
How it differs from robots.txt and a sitemap
Use robots.txt to give crawlers access instructions. A sitemap lists URLs you want search engines to discover. An llms.txt file gives a short introduction and a selection of links with context.
What to put in it
- A heading with the company name.
- One or two lines: what you sell, to whom and where.
- Sections with links: services or catalogue, cases, pricing, contact — each with a short note.
- Details that need to stay accurate, such as delivery regions, languages, lead times and starting prices.
What can you expect from the file?
Our analytics cannot isolate the effect of this file. At the time of our IWH study, the site had no llms.txt, yet ChatGPT sent 53 visits. The product pages already answered buyers’ questions about parts.
Questions and answers
Does llms.txt affect Google rankings?
We have no evidence of a direct ranking benefit from llms.txt. Use Search Console to check whether Google can find and index the pages themselves.
Where does the file go?
At the site root, at your-domain/llms.txt, like robots.txt.