What Is llms.txt — and Does Your Site Need One?

llms.txt is a simple markdown file at yoursite.com/llms.txt that hands AI models a clean, curated map of what your site is and where the important pages live. Think of it as a friendly briefing for language models: instead of guessing from cluttered HTML, they get your positioning, key links and facts in plain text they can read and quote.

It is not a ranking trick, and no engine is contractually obliged to read it. What it does is reduce friction: it makes your brand legible, signals the pages you most want understood, and pairs well with a deeper llms-full.txt that carries your full context for retrieval. Early, low-cost, and entirely in your control.

Writing one is quick. Open with a one-paragraph description of who you are and what you do, then list your key pages with short labels — services, pricing, flagship case studies, contact. Keep it factual and current; don't stuff it with keywords. Add an llms-full.txt for the long version: founder/E-E-A-T, method, real case studies, FAQs.

Does your site need one? If you care whether AI assistants describe you accurately, yes — it's a few minutes of work for a cleaner read. It's one line item on a larger AI-visibility checklist, but it's among the easiest wins. Add it, then make sure your robots.txt actually lets the AI crawlers in.