Short definition
llms.txt is a proposed standard: a Markdown file placed at the root of a website (/llms.txt) that gives large language models a concise summary of the site and links to its most important pages, making the content easier for AI systems to understand at inference time.
What goes in an llms.txt file
- An H1 with the site or company name
- A short blockquote summary of what the organisation does
- Optional paragraphs with key facts
- H2 sections listing important URLs with one-line descriptions
- An optional section for secondary links that can be skipped
Does llms.txt improve rankings?
There is no evidence it is a ranking factor, and not every AI provider uses it. It is low-effort to maintain, helps AI tools and agents that do read it, and forces you to state your key facts clearly — which helps AEO in general.