What the file is
The idea is simple: websites are full of navigation, scripts and layout that make them hard for software to read, so a site can publish a clean summary at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. The proposed format starts with the site name as a heading, a one-line summary, a few lines of detail, and then lists of links to key pages with a short note on each.
It was proposed with documentation sites in mind, where developers want AI coding tools to find the right pages. Some sites and tools have adopted it; it is not an official web standard.
What it can and cannot do
- It can give any tool that reads it a correct, compact summary of who you are, where you are and what you offer.
- It can point to your most useful pages, such as services, contact and booking.
- It cannot make an assistant recommend you. As of this writing, the major consumer assistants have not said they use llms.txt to choose local businesses.
- It does not replace your website text, schema markup or listings, which search engines and the assistants built on them already read.
llms.txt versus schema markup
Schema markup (JSON-LD using the schema.org vocabulary) is an established format that search engines support for business details such as address, hours and services. llms.txt is a newer, informal summary aimed at language-model tools. If you can only do one, do the schema markup and make your visible page text clear. If you can do both in an afternoon, do both, and make sure they say the same thing.
Does a local business need one?
Need is a strong word. A plumber, dentist or café with a clear site and accurate listings is already in good shape without it. Add one if it is quick for you, if your site builder lets you upload files to the root, and if you will keep it up to date. An out-of-date llms.txt that lists old hours or a closed location is worse than none.
- 01Write one sentence on what you do, for whom and where.
- 02List your name, address, phone, hours and service area exactly as on your website.
- 03Link your services, contact, about and booking pages with one line each.
- 04Upload the file so it opens at yourdomain.com/llms.txt, and add a reminder to update it when your details change.
The quick way
Our free llms.txt generator builds the file, a plain summary and a LocalBusiness JSON-LD snippet from details you type, in your browser, with nothing sent to a server. Then run the free scan to see what assistants say about you today; the file is maintenance work, the scan shows the current picture.
Questions
Does ChatGPT read llms.txt?
OpenAI has not published that its assistant uses llms.txt to choose businesses. Some AI tools read the file when they are pointed at a site. Treat it as optional and check the providers’ own documentation for current behaviour.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may access. llms.txt is a summary of your site for language-model tools. Adding llms.txt does not change what crawlers are allowed to read.
Can I put marketing claims in llms.txt?
Keep it factual and identical to what your site says. A file full of claims your pages do not support is unlikely to help and may make your details less trustworthy.
Check what AI says about your business
The free scan asks five customer-style questions with live web search and shows every reply word for word, who was named, and which pages were cited. About a minute, no card.
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