Guide
Glossary
llms.txt
llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file, written in Markdown and placed at the root of a website (for example, /llms.txt), that gives large language models a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024, and it remains a community proposal, not an official web standard. Google's AI optimisation guide, updated in 2026, says Google Search does not use llms.txt files and that they neither help nor harm visibility in Search, including AI Overviews. Some AI companies and documentation sites publish one, and some AI tools may read it.
Also called LLMs.txt file
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Example
In a law firm
For example, a law firm publishes a short llms.txt file listing its practice areas, lawyer profiles and guides, each with a one-line description. It takes little time to write and keep current. The firm treats it as optional housekeeping and puts its real effort into clear, crawlable practice-area pages and accurate structured data.
Should a firm’s website have an llms.txt file?
It is optional. A short llms.txt file costs little to write and does no harm, but Google Search ignores it, so it should never come before the basics answer engines do rely on: fast, crawlable pages, direct answers near the top of each page, accurate structured data, and a robots.txt file that lets AI search crawlers in.
Guides that explain it in context
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