What is llms.txt, and does your business need one?

An llms.txt file is a plain text file in the root of your website. It gives AI tools a short, readable summary of your business and a list of your most useful pages.

Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI proposed the format in September 2024. It is a proposal, not an official standard. No AI company has promised to read it.

What goes in the file

The file uses simple Markdown. It has four parts:

• A title with your business name.
• One short paragraph that says what you do and where.
• A list of key pages, each with a one-line note.
• Optional links to longer pages.

Does it help you rank

Nobody can prove that it does. Search engines do not use it for ranking. Some AI tools may read it. Others ignore it.

The file costs you ten minutes. It cannot hurt you. Treat it as a small extra, not as a plan.

What matters more

Your normal pages matter more. Write a clear first paragraph on each page. State your services, your area and your opening hours in plain words. Add structured data so machines can read the same facts.

How to make one

Use the free llms.txt generator. Enter your business name, a summary and your key pages. Copy the result into a file named llms.txt. Upload it to the root of your domain, so it opens at yourdomain.com/llms.txt.

Sites built on yaya publish this file for you and update it each time you publish.