llms.txt is a plain text file at yourdomain.com/llms.txt that lists your most important pages in a format AI tools can read quickly. It’s a proposed standard, not an official one. No major AI company has confirmed it uses the file, and one large study found no clear effect on AI citations. It takes minutes to add, so it’s fine as housekeeping, but it won’t get you named by ChatGPT on its own.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a text file that sits at the root of your website, at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It was proposed in September 2024 by Jeremy Howard of Answer.AI as a simple way to give large language models (the “LLM” in the name) a short, clean summary of a website.
The idea is easy to follow. A normal web page is full of menus, scripts, pop-ups and footers. An llms.txt file strips all of that away and says: here’s who we are, and here are the pages that matter.
It’s often compared to robots.txt, but it does a different job. robots.txt tells crawlers where they may go. llms.txt suggests what they should read. If you’re new to this, start with what AI SEO actually is.
What goes in it?
The format is written in Markdown, the same simple formatting used in many notes apps. A basic file has four parts:
| Part | What it looks like | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Title | # Revirto | The name of the site or business |
| Summary | > AI SEO agency that builds fast WordPress sites… | One or two lines on what you do and for whom |
| Sections | ## Services, ## Case studies | Groups of links, each with a short description |
| Optional | ## Optional | Pages a tool can skip if it’s short on space |
On WordPress you don’t have to write it by hand. Rank Math, the SEO plugin we use on every build, can generate the file and keep it updated as you add pages.
Ours is live at revirto.com/llms.txt. It lists our posts, our service and pricing pages, the Tyde case study and five key facts about the business.
Do AI tools actually use it?
This is the honest part: there’s no proof yet that they do.
- No major AI company (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or Perplexity) has said its search or answer features read llms.txt.
- Google has said publicly that it doesn’t use the file for Search or AI Overviews.
- A study of 300,000 domains reported by Search Engine Journal found no clear link between having an llms.txt file and being cited by AI tools.
That could change. Standards like this sometimes get adopted quietly, and a file that costs nothing to keep is a cheap bet. But today, the things AI tools clearly do read are your pages, your reviews and what other sites say about you. Clear page structure and schema markup do far more than any single file.
Should a small business add one?
Yes, if it takes you five minutes. No, if it takes you a week.
| If you… | Then |
|---|---|
| Run WordPress with Rank Math or Yoast | Turn it on. It’s one setting and it updates itself. |
| Have a custom or non-WordPress site | Add it when you next update the site. Don’t pay for a project just for this. |
| Are choosing between llms.txt and fixing your service pages | Fix the service pages first. Every time. |
| Want to block AI tools | llms.txt can’t do that. Use robots.txt instead. |
If you want AI tools to name your business, the work that moves the needle is the work behind AI SEO: pages that answer real buyer questions, a complete Google profile, reviews and mentions on other sites.
Common questions
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers which pages they may or may not visit. llms.txt is a suggested reading list. It can’t block anything.
Will llms.txt help me rank on Google?
No. Google has said it doesn’t use the file. It won’t hurt your rankings either.
Where does the file go?
At the root of your domain, so it opens at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. On WordPress, an SEO plugin like Rank Math can create it for you.
Does Revirto add llms.txt to new websites?
Yes. Schema and llms.txt setup are part of every website we build, alongside speed work, clear headings and Search Console.
