How does llms.txt work?
An llms.txt file works like a short guide written for machines. It sits at yoursite.com/llms.txt and, written in Markdown, gives the site's name, a one-paragraph summary and lists of the most useful pages with a line about each. An AI tool that reads it gets a clean overview without having to parse every page.
What llms.txt is not:
- Not a ranking factor. It doesn't move your position in search results.
- Not a way to block AI. Crawler access is set in robots.txt.
- Not a guarantee. An AI assistant may never request the file.
Why does llms.txt matter for a small business?
llms.txt matters a little, not a lot. It takes little effort to add and may help AI tools that read it describe your business accurately. It doesn't replace the things that do shape AI answers: clear content, consistent facts across the web, and not blocking AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot and PerplexityBot.
What does llms.txt look like in practice?
We add an llms.txt file in the authority phase of an SEO, AEO & GEO roadmap, alongside comparison pages, case studies and outreach to the listicles and aggregators in your category. In the same work we check that AI crawlers aren't blocked in robots.txt, which has a far bigger effect on whether assistants can read your site.