What is llms.txt, and does your website need one?

llms.txt is a plain-text file, placed at yourwebsite.co.uk/llms.txt, that gives AI tools a short summary of your website and links to its most important pages. It was proposed in 2024 as a way to help large language models understand a site quickly. Google has said its search engine doesn’t use it, and there’s no evidence it gets you into AI answers. It’s cheap to add and does no harm, but it isn’t a shortcut to AI visibility.

If someone has told you that you urgently need an llms.txt file to show up in ChatGPT, here’s the fuller picture.

What is llms.txt?

Think of it as a cross between a site map and an elevator pitch, written for AI. The idea is that AI tools struggle with complicated web pages full of menus, adverts and scripts, so a simple file that says “here’s who we are and here are the pages that matter” makes their job easier.

The proposal suggests a simple format, written in Markdown:

• a heading with your business name
• a one-paragraph summary
• sections listing your key pages, each with a link and a short description

Some versions also include an llms-full.txt file with the full text of the main pages in one place.

An example

Here’s what a simple llms.txt might look like for a small accountancy firm:

# Smith & Co Accountants

> Chartered accountants in Brighton, helping sole traders and small
> companies in Sussex with accounts, tax returns, VAT and payroll since 2004.

## Services

- [Self-assessment tax returns](https://www.example.co.uk/tax-returns/): Fixed-fee returns for sole traders and landlords
- [Limited company accounts](https://www.example.co.uk/company-accounts/): Year-end accounts and corporation tax
- [Payroll](https://www.example.co.uk/payroll/): Monthly payroll and pensions for up to 50 staff

## About

- [Our team](https://www.example.co.uk/team/): Qualified accountants and their specialisms
- [Contact](https://www.example.co.uk/contact/): Office address, hours and phone number

Who actually uses llms.txt?

This is where the hype runs ahead of the evidence.

• Google Search: no. Google’s Gary Illyes reportedly said in 2025 that Google doesn’t support llms.txt and isn’t planning to. Google’s 2026 guide to its AI features says: “You don’t need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, markup, or Markdown to appear in Google Search.”
• John Mueller of Google has compared llms.txt to the keywords meta tag and pointed out that AI crawlers weren’t even requesting the file.
• Google Lighthouse: sort of. In May 2026, Lighthouse 13.3 added an experimental “agentic browsing” category with an llms.txt check. It’s about helping AI agents navigate a site, not about rankings or citations.
• Other AI tools: sometimes. Some site owners have reported OpenAI’s crawlers fetching the file, and some coding assistants and documentation tools read it. No major AI company has said it uses llms.txt to decide what to recommend.

So the honest answer is that llms.txt might help some AI tools read your site a little more easily. It won’t make them trust or recommend you.

Should you add one?

Add one if:

• your website platform or SEO plugin can create it automatically
• you run a documentation-heavy site, such as software help pages, where AI coding and support tools are likely to read it
• you want a simple, up-to-date list of your key pages for any tool that looks for one

Don’t bother, or don’t pay for it, if:

• someone is selling it as the key to appearing in ChatGPT or AI Overviews
• you’d have to maintain it by hand and it would quickly go out of date
• your website still has bigger problems, such as slow pages, unclear service descriptions or blocked AI crawlers

If you do add one, keep it accurate. An llms.txt file listing pages that no longer exist doesn’t help anyone.

What helps more than llms.txt

The things that actually make AI tools more likely to understand and recommend you are less exciting but far more effective:

1. Let the right crawlers in. Make sure robots.txt and your firewall allow search crawlers such as Googlebot, Bingbot and OAI-SearchBot. See our guide to AI crawlers.
2. Make your pages clear. Plain HTML text, sensible headings and answers near the top of the page are easy for any machine to read.
3. Use structured data accurately. Organization, LocalBusiness and Product markup label your key facts in a standard format that search engines already understand.
4. Earn mentions and reviews. AI tools recommend businesses that trusted sources talk about. Our article on getting ChatGPT to recommend your business explains how.

Ready for some help?

If you’ve been told your site needs “AI files” and you’re not sure what’s worth doing, book a free chat. We’ll check what AI crawlers can see on your site and focus on the changes that make a real difference. Our GEO service covers the technical side as well as content and reputation.