llms.txt is robots.txt
for the AI era

When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity about a topic you cover, the AI scrapes the web and tries to summarise your site. Without guidance, it often gets things wrong — outdated info, missing context, misrepresented products.

An llms.txt file gives AI crawlers a clear, authoritative summary of your site — who you are, what you do, and which pages matter most. You control the narrative.

How it works

Three steps. Under 30 seconds.

Here's what a
good llms.txt looks like

A well-formed llms.txt includes a site description, links to your key pages with context, the main topics you cover, and an optional link to a full extended version.

• ✓ Site name and one-line description
• ✓ Links to key pages with context
• ✓ Main topics and keywords covered
• ✓ Optional llms-full.txt for more detail

AI search is not coming — it's here

Over 40% of Google searches now show AI Overviews. Perplexity serves millions of AI-generated answers daily. The sites that get cited are the ones that are AI-readable.

What is an llms.txt file?

An llms.txt file is a plain-text file placed at the root of your website (e.g. yoursite.com/llms.txt) that tells AI language models what your site is about. It summarises your most important pages and content in a structured, machine-readable format — similar to how robots.txt guides search engine crawlers, but specifically designed for large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Which AI systems read llms.txt?

llms.txt is an emerging standard supported by a growing list of AI systems. ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Perplexity AI, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and You.com all use crawlers that can discover and benefit from llms.txt. As AI search becomes mainstream, this list will only grow.

How is llms.txt different from robots.txt or a sitemap?

robots.txt tells crawlers which pages to avoid. A sitemap lists your URLs for indexing. llms.txt is different — it provides a rich, human-readable summary of what your site does and which pages matter most. LLMs use it to give accurate answers and citations when users ask about topics your site covers.

Is llms.txt free to generate?

Yes — our llms.txt generator is completely free, with no account required. Paste your URL, click Generate, and download your file in seconds. We scan your site's structure, title, meta tags, and key pages to build the best possible file.

Does having an llms.txt improve my Google rankings?

Not directly — llms.txt is aimed at AI crawlers, not Google's traditional ranking algorithm. However, as AI-powered search (Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity) drives more traffic, appearing in those results becomes increasingly important. llms.txt gives you a clear advantage in AI-generated answers.

How often should I update my llms.txt?

Update your llms.txt whenever you add major new content, launch new product sections, or significantly change your site structure. For most sites, reviewing it every 1–3 months is enough. If you use SEOBot's monitoring, we can alert you when it's time to refresh.

Where exactly do I upload the llms.txt file?

Upload llms.txt to the root directory of your website so it's publicly accessible at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. For WordPress sites, this means the public_html folder. For Next.js or Vercel, put it in the /public folder. It must return a 200 status code with plain text content.

What happens if I don't have an llms.txt?

AI models will still attempt to summarise your site, but they'll rely on scraped content which can be incomplete, outdated, or misleading. Without llms.txt, you have no control over how AI systems represent your brand. Competitors with llms.txt will get more accurate, prominent citations.