llms.txt is a plain text file at the root of your site that tells AI assistants what your business is, in a form they cannot misread. Here is what to write in it and how to check it works.
- A text file at yourbusiness.com/llms.txt.
- State who you are, where you are, what you sell and for whom, in plain sentences.
- Link the 3 to 5 pages that answer buyer questions.
- Check it with the free scan. The llms.txt check turns green.
Why a text file matters now
More than 1 billion people use Google AI Overviews. And in Pew's study of 900 US adults, Google users clicked a result link in 8 % of visits with an AI summary, against 15 % of visits without one. The answer is the visit now. Assistants build that answer from what they can read cleanly, and a marketing page full of images, sliders and scripts is not clean.
llms.txt is the same idea as robots.txt, a small file at a known address that says the important things once. Assistants that support it can read it in one request.
What to put in it
Keep it under a page. Facts, not slogans. This is the order that works.
- One heading with your business name.
- One paragraph on what you do, for whom, and where. Name the city if you serve one.
- A list of the pages that answer buyer questions, such as services, prices, opening hours, contact and about.
- Optionally, what you do not do, so an assistant does not recommend you for the wrong job.
An example
A dental practice in Hamburg might write something like this.
- # Example Dental
- > Dental practice in Hamburg Altona. Prophylaxis, implants and children's dentistry. Appointments online, German and English spoken.
- ## Pages
- - [Services](https://example-dental.de/services): what we treat and what it costs
- - [Team](https://example-dental.de/team): the 3 dentists and their specialities
- - [Contact](https://example-dental.de/contact): address, hours, phone
Use your real pages and your real address. A file that promises what the site does not show makes things worse, not better.
How to check it
Open yourbusiness.com/llms.txt in a browser. It should show as plain text, not a 404 and not your home page. Then run the free scan. The check named llms.txt present turns green, and the fix for it disappears from your list.
Give assistants a few weeks. They read sites on their own schedule, and the weekly run shows when a mention arrives.
Questions
Does every assistant read llms.txt?
Not every one, and none of them promises to. It costs 20 minutes and it removes one reason for an assistant to guess. That is a good trade.
Does it replace structured data?
No. Structured data (schema.org in JSON-LD) tells search engines and assistants what kind of business you are in a machine readable way. Do both.
Sources
The free scan asks 4 assistants 6 buyer questions about your site. 90 seconds, no account.