AI SEO10 min read

llms.txt: The Complete Guide (+ Free Template)

Published August 20, 2025 by WAYF

You've heard of robots.txt—the file that tells search engines how to crawl your site. Now there's llms.txt: the equivalent file for AI systems.

As ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI platforms crawl the web, they need to understand what your website is about, what pages are important, and how to accurately represent your business. llms.txt helps them do exactly that.

This complete guide explains what llms.txt is, why it matters, how to create one, best practices, common mistakes, and includes a free template you can customize for your business.

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a proposed standard file that provides structured information about your website in a format optimized for AI systems to understand.

Key characteristics:

Plain text format: Simple .txt file, no special encoding or markup required
Root-level placement: Located at yoursite.com/llms.txt
Human-readable: Written in clear, simple language (not code)
AI-optimized: Structured specifically for AI comprehension
Complementary: Works alongside robots.txt and structured data, doesn't replace them

Origin: Proposed by Jeremy Howard and the llmstxt.org initiative as a standardized way to help LLMs (Large Language Models) understand websites.

Reference: llmstxt.org for the official specification

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Why llms.txt Matters for AI Visibility

Without llms.txt, AI systems have to "guess" what your website is about by parsing HTML, reading content, and inferring structure. This works, but it's imperfect.

With llms.txt, you explicitly tell AI systems:

What your business does
Which pages are most important
How to describe your services
Where to find specific information
How to contact you

Without llms.txt

• AI guesses from content
• May misunderstand niche
• Important pages overlooked
• Inconsistent descriptions

With llms.txt

• Clear, direct information
• Accurate categorization
• Key pages highlighted
• Consistent branding

Early research shows: Websites with well-crafted llms.txt files see more accurate AI representations and higher citation rates. While the standard is still emerging, early adopters gain advantages as AI systems learn to prioritize llms.txt information.

llms.txt vs. robots.txt

Both are root-level .txt files, but they serve different purposes:

Aspect	robots.txt	llms.txt
Purpose	Control crawler access	Provide context & information
Content	Allow/Disallow rules	Business description, pages, services
Format	Specific syntax (User-agent, Disallow)	Free-form text with suggested structure
Mandatory?	No, but standard practice	No, but increasingly recommended
Read by	All crawlers (search + AI)	Primarily AI/LLM systems

Bottom line: You need both. robots.txt controls access, llms.txt provides context.

What to Include in Your llms.txt File

A good llms.txt file is concise (300-500 words), well-structured, and informative.

1. Business Overview

Name, what you do, who you serve. Keep it to 2-3 sentences.

Example: "Unveily is an AI visibility diagnostic tool that tests whether your business appears in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other AI platforms."

2. Main Pages

List 5-10 most important pages with URLs and brief descriptions.

Example: "Homepage (/) - AI visibility testing and GEO score"

3. Services/Products

What you offer. Be specific but concise.

Example: "AI visibility diagnostics across 6 platforms, GEO technical analysis, Personalized action plans"

4. Target Audience

Who should use your product/service.

Example: "Designed for businesses, marketers, and agencies wanting to improve AI visibility"

5. Contact Information

How to reach you. Email, contact page, social media.

Example: "Contact: https://wayfdigital.com/#contact"

6. Last Updated Date

When you last reviewed/updated the file.

Example: "Last updated: September 2025"

Free llms.txt Template

Copy this template and customize it for your business:

# About [Your Business Name]

[Your Business Name] is [brief description of what you do and who you serve].

## What We Do

[Describe your core service/product in 2-3 sentences. Focus on the value you provide and problems you solve.]

## Main Pages

- Homepage (https://yoursite.com) - [Brief description]
- [Page Name] (https://yoursite.com/page) - [Brief description]
- [Page Name] (https://yoursite.com/page) - [Brief description]
- Pricing (https://yoursite.com/pricing) - [Brief description]
- Blog (https://yoursite.com/blog) - [Brief description]

## Services/Products

- [Service 1]: [Brief description]
- [Service 2]: [Brief description]
- [Service 3]: [Brief description]

## Target Audience

[Who is this for? Be specific about your ideal customer.]

## Key Features

- [Feature 1]
- [Feature 2]
- [Feature 3]
- [Feature 4]

## How It Works

[Briefly explain your process or how customers use your product/service in 2-3 sentences.]

## Contact & Support

- Contact: https://yoursite.com/contact
- Email: contact@yoursite.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/yourbusiness
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/yourbusiness

## Additional Information

[Any other relevant details: company founded date, location, certifications, awards, partnerships.]

---

Last updated: [Month Year]

Note: Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your actual information. Keep total length under 500 words.

Step-by-Step: Creating Your llms.txt

Copy the template

Copy the template above into a text editor (Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, etc.)

Customize the content

Replace all bracketed placeholders with your actual business information. Be specific and accurate.

Keep it concise

Aim for 300-500 words total. Remove sections that don't apply. AI systems prefer concise, focused information.

Save as llms.txt

Save the file as llms.txt (not .doc or .pdf). Must be plain text.

Upload to root directory

Place the file in your website's root directory (same location as robots.txt, not in a subfolder).

Test accessibility

Visit yoursite.com/llms.txt in a browser. You should see your plain text content.

Time required: 20-30 minutes for first draft, 5-10 minutes for updates

llms.txt Best Practices

✓ Use simple, clear language

Write for comprehension, not marketing fluff. AI systems value clarity over cleverness.

✓ Be accurate and up-to-date

Don't exaggerate or include outdated information. AI systems may fact-check against your actual content.

✓ Include absolute URLs

Use full URLs (https://yoursite.com/page) not relative links (/page).

✓ List pages in priority order

Most important pages first. AI systems may give more weight to items listed earlier.

✓ Update quarterly

Review and update your llms.txt every 3-6 months. Change the "Last updated" date when you do.

✓ Focus on core information

Don't list every single page. Focus on the most important 5-10 pages that represent your business.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗ Making it too long

Don't write an essay. Keep it under 500 words. AI systems skim, they don't read novels.

✗ Using marketing speak

Avoid "world's best," "revolutionary," and other hyperbole. Be factual and specific.

✗ Placing in wrong location

Must be at yoursite.com/llms.txt (root level), not /docs/llms.txt or /assets/llms.txt.

✗ Using HTML or rich text

Must be plain text only. No HTML tags, no formatting, no images.

✗ Including broken links

All URLs must work. Broken links signal poor site maintenance.

✗ Never updating it

Stale information is worse than no llms.txt. Update quarterly at minimum.

Testing Your llms.txt File

After creating your llms.txt, verify it's working correctly:

1. Accessibility test

Visit yoursite.com/llms.txt in a browser. You should see plain text content, not a 404 error.

2. Format check

Ensure it displays as plain text (not HTML, not download prompt). Check line breaks appear correctly.

3. Link verification

Click every URL in your llms.txt. All links should work.

4. Length check

Copy your llms.txt content and check word count. Should be 300-500 words ideally, 600 max.

5. AI visibility test

Run an Unveily diagnostic 4-6 weeks after implementing llms.txt to measure impact.

Next Steps

Creating an llms.txt file is one of the quickest, highest-ROI optimizations you can make for AI visibility. It takes 30 minutes and provides ongoing benefits as AI systems increasingly rely on llms.txt for accurate website understanding.

Action plan:

Copy the template from this guide (or use our free generator)
Spend 20-30 minutes customizing it with your business information
Upload to your website root at yoursite.com/llms.txt
Test accessibility by visiting the URL
Set a calendar reminder to review/update quarterly
Monitor your AI visibility improvements over the next 4-8 weeks

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