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llms.txt explained: what it is and who it helps.
Reviewed 16 October 2026
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llms.txt is a short plain-text page at the root of your site that lists your best pages with a line about each. It takes twenty minutes to write. This guide shows the format, how it differs from the files you already have, and where it fits.
What the file is
A proposal for a plain-text file, written in Markdown, served at /llms.txt. It gives automated readers a curated guide to your site: who you are in a sentence, then the pages that matter most, each with a short description.1
The format
The proposal asks for a title on the first line, a one-paragraph summary in a quote block, then sections of links, each link followed by a note. A section named Optional marks pages that can be skipped when space is short.2
# Example Bakery > Family bakery in Leeds selling sourdough, pastries and cakes, with delivery across the city. ## Key pages - [Menu](https://www.example.com/menu): every product, price and allergen note - [Delivery](https://www.example.com/delivery): areas, times and costs - [Contact](https://www.example.com/contact): address, phone and opening hours ## Optional - [Our story](https://www.example.com/about): how the bakery started
How it differs from the files you have
- robots.txt
- Says which crawlers may fetch which paths. It is about permission.
- sitemap.xml
- Lists every URL you want crawled, with dates. It is complete and machine-built.
- llms.txt
- A short, hand-picked guide with descriptions. It is about emphasis.
The three do different jobs, so one never replaces another.4
What to expect from it
It is a community proposal, not a web standard, and search documentation says no special file or markup is needed to be eligible for answer features. The value is modest and the cost is small: a tidy summary of your site that any automated reader can take in at a glance.5
How to write a good one
List the ten or so pages you would most like quoted. Describe each in one plain statement of what it contains, with the facts that matter: prices, areas, dates. Link only to pages that work as readable text, and never list a page your robots.txt blocks.
Publish and maintain it
Save it as UTF-8 text, upload it to the root of the site, and open /llms.txt in a browser to confirm it loads. Add one line to your publishing routine: when a key page is added, moved or removed, update the file the same day.6
Before you publish
0 / 4: tick each one as you check it.
This guide covers a few. The checklist covers the rest.
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Common questions
What does llms.txt do?
It gives automated readers a short, curated list of your key pages with a description of each. It does not grant or block access; robots.txt handles that.
Is llms.txt required?
No. Search documentation says no special file is required to be eligible for answer features. It is an optional summary that costs little to keep.
Where does the file go?
At the root of your domain, so it loads at your-domain/llms.txt. Save it as UTF-8 text and check it opens in a browser.
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