What is llms.txt? A Simple Guide
AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity are changing how we get information from websites. These AI tools try to understand web content and give you quick, helpful answers. But websites can be hard for AI to understand because of complicated code and restrictions. That's where llms.txt comes in - it's a new solution to help AIs understand websites better.
What is llms.txt?
Llms.txt is just a simple text file that website owners put on their sites to help AI tools understand their content better. Think of it like a cheat sheet that gives AIs the important information without all the distractions.
Where did it come from?
Jeremy Howard proposed the llms.txt idea in September 2024 because he saw that AIs were struggling with regular websites. A company called Answer.AI has been promoting it, but big companies like Google haven't officially supported it yet.
What does it do?
The main job of llms.txt is to give AI tools a simpler version of a website's content. It helps by:
- Skipping complicated code
- Ignoring things like menus, ads, and scripts
- Giving AIs direct access to the important stuff
- Helping AIs give better answers based on accurate information
How is it different from robots.txt?
Both files sit in the main folder of a website, but they do different things:
Purpose
- llms.txt: Helps AIs understand website content
- robots.txt: Tells search engines which pages they can look at
Who it's for
- llms.txt: AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude
- robots.txt: Search engines like Google and Bing
Format
- llms.txt: Uses a format called Markdown that's easy to read
- robots.txt: Uses simple text with specific commands
SEO Connection
- llms.txt: Helps with AI visibility (sometimes called GEO)
- robots.txt: Helps with traditional search engine visibility
How to make a good llms.txt file
If you're making an llms.txt file, you should:
- Keep it simple and clean
- Only include important information
- Avoid complicated code
- Make sure everything is accurate and up-to-date
- Clearly separate main content from extra stuff
- Make sure it doesn't conflict with your robots.txt
- Update it when your website changes
What to include in the file
A good llms.txt file should have:
- A clear title for your website
- A short summary of what your site is about
- More detailed information in paragraphs or lists
- Links to important pages on your site
- Any special instructions for AI tools
How to add it to your website
- Write the file using simple Markdown
- Upload it to the main folder of your website
- Add a mention of it in your robots.txt file
- Check that it's accessible by typing yourwebsite.com/llms.txt
- Set the right permissions so AIs can access it
- Update it regularly as your site changes
For WordPress users
If you use WordPress, you can:
- Upload the file manually to your public_html folder
- Use a plugin to create and manage it
After you add it
Once you've added llms.txt to your site, it's important to:
- Keep track of which AIs are using it
- See how they're using your information
- Check if it's helping bring more visitors to your site
- Look for ways to make it even better
By using llms.txt, website owners can make sure their content shows up correctly when people use AI tools to find information.