What Is the llms.txt File?
- What Is the llms.txt File?
- How Is llms.txt Different From robots.txt?
- What Is the Structure of llms.txt?
- llms.txt Formatting Best Practices (Based on Our Usage)
- Are Companies and Larger Brands Implementing llms.txt?
- How Different Brands Use llms.txt
- How Could Local and Non-Local Businesses Implement llms.txt?
- Should You Add llms.txt to Your Site?
- How to Create a llms.txt File
- Best Practices
The llms.txt file is a proposed file type intended to help AI and generative engines better understand website content. Similar to submitting a sitemap to Google Search Console, the idea behind including an llms.txt file is to help AI systems more easily discover and interpret your content. The proposed concept of llms.txt is that it acts as a roadmap, guiding AI toward your most important and authoritative pages.
The concept is simple: AI crawlers can only scan so many areas of a website. As a result, they often miss important information or data. When that missing or outdated data is later used to answer questions, it can lead to misinformation, incorrect details, or objectively wrong answers. The purpose of llms.txt is to reduce the risk of AI relying on outdated or low-value content by clearly signaling which pages are the most authoritative.
How Is llms.txt Different From robots.txt?
robots.txt is:
- A widely accepted standard for SEO and Google
- Used to block access to certain pages from being indexed
- Designed to prevent search engine crawlers from wasting crawl budget on backend or low-value pages
llms.txt is:
- A proposed standard not yet backed by any official AI or SEO governing bodies
- Used to help AI systems better understand a website’s content
- Intended to reduce the likelihood of AI citing incorrect or outdated information
What Is the Structure of llms.txt?
The current proposed structure for llms.txt uses Markdown formatting. Markdown is a lightweight formatting language commonly used for GitHub README files and technical documentation. You can learn more about Markdown here: https://www.markdownguide.org/getting-started/
Markdown improves predictability and clarity for AI crawlers by clearly defining headings, descriptions, and links, making it easier for large language models to interpret content correctly.
Below is an example of how Duco-Digital structures its llms.txt file.
llms.txt Formatting Best Practices (Based on Our Usage)
Based on the llms.txt file generated by Yoast, we follow these conventions:
- The > block is used for longer, descriptive summaries. In our example, it explains what Duco-Digital does as an agency.
- Square brackets [ ] are used for hyperlinks to other pages on our website, such as service pages.
- The # symbol is used for headings and for categorizing different sections of content.
From what we’ve observed, larger and more complex websites tend to use more headings and more detailed descriptions to help AI better understand page context.
Are Companies and Larger Brands Implementing llms.txt?
Yes, some brands and companies are currently implementing llms.txt on their websites. However, as of late 2025, major AI platforms have not confirmed that they actively reference llms.txt when generating responses.
Source: https://airankchecker.net/blog/what-is-llms-txt
According to NerdyData, there are currently over 3,654 websites referencing llms.txt.
Source: https://www.nerdydata.com/reports/llms.txt/b012b7e8-c50d-45e3-8719-0d72f097c3db
Some notable brands with publicly accessible llms.txt files include:
- Fashion Nova — https://www.fashionnova.com/llms.txt
- Shopify — https://www.shopify.com/llms.txt
- Hootsuite — https://www.hootsuite.com/llms.txt
- Notion — https://www.notion.com/llms.txt
How Different Brands Use llms.txt
Fashion Nova
Fashion Nova currently uses its llms.txt file as a structured product feed, similar to Google Merchant Center. The file includes product IDs, SEO-optimized product titles, pricing, gender, and age group. This approach helps AI answer product-specific questions such as “What is the exact name of this Fashion Nova product?” or “Is this a women’s or men’s item?”
Shopify
Shopify uses its llms.txt file to position itself to AI systems as a commerce platform that helps merchants sell online and in person. The file includes key company statistics, company information such as the About page, and its product and pricing structure.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite’s llms.txt file is structured to highlight the tools and products it offers, with a strong focus on core capabilities and AI-powered utilities. This approach helps AI answer questions like “What tools does Hootsuite offer?”
Notion
Notion’s llms.txt file begins with a brand summary and then lists core products along with how those products are used. It starts with a value proposition that explains what the platform is and why it matters, followed by feature-level context.
How Could Local and Non-Local Businesses Implement llms.txt?
Local businesses can implement llms.txt to help large language models and Google’s AI Overviews better understand their services and geographic relevance. By highlighting specific service pages and location-based URLs, llms.txt can guide AI systems toward the most accurate and up-to-date information. This increases the likelihood that when a potential customer searches for a product or service in their area, the AI-generated answer or chat experience reflects the correct offerings, locations, and details.
Non-local businesses, such as ecommerce brands and SaaS companies, can implement llms.txt in similar ways to companies like Hootsuite or Fashion Nova. For businesses with large product catalogs, llms.txt can function as a structured product feed or AI-friendly shopping assistant. This helps AI systems better interpret product names, categories, and core offerings, improving how products and services are referenced in AI-generated responses.
Should You Add llms.txt to Your Site?
At this time, there is no clear directive stating whether you should or should not implement llms.txt, nor is there an official endorsement from major SEO or AI governing bodies. That said, at Duco-Digital, we have been adding llms.txt to all of our clients’ websites. This ensures that if llms.txt becomes a widely adopted standard, our clients are already prepared and positioned ahead of the curve in AI-SEO.
How to Create a llms.txt File
There are several ways to create a llms.txt file, depending on your technical comfort level and website setup.
Option 1: Using a Text Editor
You can manually create a file named llms.txt using a text editor such as Notepad or Visual Studio Code. The file should be structured using Markdown formatting and follow current llms.txt conventions. Once created, upload the file to your website’s root directory.
Option 2: Using a llms.txt Generator
You can also use a llms.txt generator, such as Writesonic. These tools allow you to paste in your website URL and automatically generate a starting version of the file. After generating the file, download it and upload it to your website’s root directory.
Option 3: Using Yoast SEO on WordPress
If your website runs on WordPress, llms.txt can be generated automatically using plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math. To do this with Yoast, log into your WordPress dashboard, click Yoast SEO in the sidebar, navigate to Settings, then Advanced, and enable the llms.txt feature. Set content updates to automatic so the file stays current.
Once installed, you can verify the file by visiting yourwebsite.com/llms.txt in your browser.
Best Practices
The llms.txt file should always be placed at the root of your domain so it is easily discoverable. Organize the content using clear headers and logical sections—such as Blog, Documentation, or Products—to help AI systems understand your site structure. It is also important to keep all links accurate and up to date, as outdated links can mislead AI systems and reduce the effectiveness of the file.