What is llms.txt, and does your business need one?

llms.txt is a short text file at the root of your website. It tells AI systems what your business does and where your key pages are. It is cheap to add and harmless to have, if you stay realistic about what it does.

What it is

An llms.txt file lives at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It is written in simple Markdown. It has a title, a one-paragraph summary of the business, then short lists of links to key pages, each with a few words of description. It is a proposed convention, not a formal internet standard.

What it can and cannot do

• It gives a language model a clean, human-written summary instead of forcing it to infer your business from navigation menus and marketing copy.
• It does not guarantee that any assistant will read it, and it does not control what an assistant says.
• It is no substitute for crawlable pages, accurate listings and structured data.

Think of it as a tidy cover sheet, not a lever.

What to put in it

• Your business name and a plain one-paragraph description.
• Where you operate and who you serve.
• How to contact you.
• Links to your main service, pricing, about and FAQ pages, each with a short note.
• Only facts you can stand behind. Never claim credentials, awards or results you cannot document.

How to publish it

Save the file as plain text named llms.txt and upload it to the top level of your site, so it loads at the root address. Then open the address in a browser to confirm. Update it when your services, prices or contact details change. You can see ours at swahaai.com/llms.txt.

Where it fits

Treat it as one small part of AEO alongside robots.txt access, schema markup and good content. Read what is AEO for the bigger picture.

Common questions

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