GEO guide
What Is llms.txt? A Plain-English Guide With an Example
llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file, placed at yourdomain.com/llms.txt, that gives AI tools a short summary of your site and a list of your most useful pages. It is optional, support is not universal, and it works best after robots.txt and your page content are already in good shape.
What llms.txt Is
llms.txt is a Markdown file at the root of your site that describes what your website is and links to the pages an AI tool should read first. It was proposed in 2024 as a convention, not a formal standard, and it is separate from robots.txt, which controls access.
Think of robots.txt as the door rules and llms.txt as a short guide to what is inside. It does not let a blocked bot in, and it does not stop a bot from reading other pages.
A Copy-Ready llms.txt Example
A basic llms.txt has a title, a one-line summary and a few links with short descriptions. Replace the placeholders with your own business details and keep every sentence factual.
# Example Bakery
> Example Bakery is a family bakery in Springfield that sells fresh bread, cakes and catering platters, with delivery within the city.
## Key pages
- [Menu and prices](https://example.com/menu): Current bread, cake and catering prices
- [Catering](https://example.com/catering): How to order platters for events
- [Delivery areas](https://example.com/delivery): Which neighbourhoods we deliver to
- [Contact](https://example.com/contact): Address, phone and opening hoursHow to Add It to Your Website
To add llms.txt, create a plain-text file named llms.txt, write it in Markdown, and publish it so it loads at the root of your domain. It must return a normal 200 response, not an error or a redirect to your homepage.
Write the file
Start with a title, a one-sentence summary and a short list of your most important pages, each with a one-line description.
Publish it at the root
Upload it so it opens at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. On most platforms that means placing it in the site's public or root folder.
Check it
Open the address in a browser and confirm it shows plain text. The free GeoLint audit reports whether your llms.txt is present.
Is llms.txt Worth Adding?
It is worth adding if it takes you a few minutes, but it is not a priority. No AI company has promised that it will use the file, so fix bot access and your page content first.
An llms.txt file will not rescue a site whose pages bots cannot fetch or whose text appears only after JavaScript runs. Fix access first, then add the file as a low-effort extra.
llms.txt: Common Questions
Is llms.txt an official standard?
No. It is a proposed convention published in 2024, not a formal internet standard, and AI companies have not all confirmed that they read it. Treat it as optional.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers which pages they may or may not fetch, while llms.txt is a short guide that points AI tools to your most useful pages. They do different jobs and you can have both.
Will llms.txt make ChatGPT cite my website?
No one can promise that. The file may help a tool find your key pages, but citations depend on many things, including whether the tool can reach and read your content in the first place.
How do I check if my llms.txt works?
Open yourdomain.com/llms.txt in a browser and confirm it returns plain text, not an error page. GeoLint also checks for the file as part of its facts and structure score.
Check your own website for free
GeoLint asks each AI search bot for your page, loads it with and without JavaScript and shows what is blocking you. It is free, needs no signup and takes about 20 seconds.