llms.txt: the new robots.txt for LLMs.
A proposed plain-text file at the root of your site that tells AI crawlers what your business does, what your key pages are, and how to interpret you. Ten minutes to ship, asymmetric upside if the standard is adopted.
Why bother today
- Low cost. 10 minutes to write, 30 seconds to deploy. Costs nothing to maintain.
- Asymmetric payoff. If OpenAI / Anthropic / Google formalise it (likely within 18 months), sites that already ship one will be cited earlier than sites that ship one later.
- Already read by some. Cursor, Perplexity-style tools, and some retrieval-augmented systems already parse llms.txt. The early-adopter window is open.
- Forces clarity. Writing your canonical description for an AI crawler is a useful exercise. If you cannot describe your business in 200 plain words, neither can ChatGPT.
What goes in
Markdown formatting. Hosted at the root of your domain (/llms.txt). Optionally a longer /llms-full.txt for the verbose version.
- H1 with your business name.
- Blockquote with a one-line description (the elevator pitch you would want ChatGPT to quote verbatim).
- H2 sections grouping your key pages by topic. Each item: a short label + a link.
- Optional context at the bottom - location, founder, contact email, links to deeper documentation.
Example: our actual llms.txt
This is what Asked ships at askedaudits.com/llms.txt. Copy the shape for your own site.
# Asked
> AI search visibility audit + 14-day fix for local service businesses. We test if ChatGPT names your business when buyers ask for recommendations.
## Run an audit
- [Free 60-second audit](https://askedaudits.com/): paste a business name, get a Grade and the verbatim ChatGPT responses
- [Sample report](https://askedaudits.com/sample-report): 9-page PDF showing exactly what we deliver
## Products
- [DIY workbook (£99)](https://askedaudits.com/pricing): 23-sheet checklist tailored to your business
- [Done-for-you (£499)](https://askedaudits.com/pricing): 14-day fix with a money-back guarantee if your score does not move
## How it works
- [The 14-day playbook](https://askedaudits.com/playbook): the exact methodology
- [How it works](https://askedaudits.com/how-it-works): three steps from audit to fix
- [Guarantee](https://askedaudits.com/guarantee): score moves 15+ points or hits Grade B, or full refund
## Learn
- [What is GEO?](https://askedaudits.com/what-is-geo): generative engine optimization, plain English
- [AEO vs SEO](https://askedaudits.com/aeo-vs-seo): how answer engines change the rules
- [How to rank in ChatGPT](https://askedaudits.com/how-to-rank/chatgpt)
- [How to rank in Perplexity](https://askedaudits.com/how-to-rank/perplexity)
- [How to rank in Claude](https://askedaudits.com/how-to-rank/claude)
- [How to rank in Gemini](https://askedaudits.com/how-to-rank/gemini)
## About
- Based in Manchester, UK. Built by Zaib Khan.
- We audit ourselves weekly and publish the score - reach out for the dashboard.
- Contact: team@askedaudits.com
What NOT to put in
- Marketing fluff. AI crawlers strip it. "Best-in-class enterprise solution" reads as noise.
- Login walls or any URL that returns 401/403. Crawlers cannot follow those.
- Affiliate links you have not disclosed elsewhere - some AI tools flag this.
- Pricing tables. Link to your /pricing page; do not duplicate the numbers in llms.txt because they go stale.
Frequently asked
What is llms.txt?+
A proposed plain-text file at the root of your site (/llms.txt) that gives AI crawlers a machine-readable summary of what your site is about, what its key pages are, and how to interpret your content. Think of it as robots.txt for the AI era - except it tells crawlers what to read, not just what to avoid.
Who created llms.txt?+
The proposal originated from Jeremy Howard (fast.ai) in 2024. It is not yet a formal standard, but adoption has grown across SaaS and developer tools. Major LLM providers have not committed to it formally, but treating it as a graceful enhancement costs nothing.
Is llms.txt actually read by ChatGPT and Claude?+
OpenAI and Anthropic have not formally committed to reading it. Some retrieval-augmented systems and AI-aware crawlers DO read it today. Ship it as a low-cost bet on where the standard is heading. The downside if it gets ignored is zero. The upside if it becomes load-bearing is meaningful.
How is llms.txt different from robots.txt?+
robots.txt is a negative directive - 'do not crawl these paths'. llms.txt is a positive directive - 'here are the most important pages and the canonical descriptions of what we do'. They coexist; you ship both.
What should I put in mine?+
A short header (your company name and one-line description), key URLs grouped by topic, a 200-word description of what your business does, and optionally links to a more detailed llms-full.txt for the long-form version. Keep it under 500 lines.
Will this help me rank?+
Not directly today, because most major LLMs do not yet weight it. But it costs 10 minutes to ship, and once adopted by major providers, sites with clean llms.txt files will be cited earlier. Low-risk asymmetric bet.
See if ChatGPT names you today
llms.txt is one signal of many. Asked tests the actual outcome - whether AI assistants name your business when buyers ask.
Run my free audit