How to add an llms.txt file to your website
An llms.txt file is a plain Markdown file at the root of your site that tells AI assistants what the site is about and which pages matter most. It takes ten minutes to write, needs no code, and gives ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity a curated map instead of leaving them to guess from your navigation.
By ratemysite.ai editorial team. Updated .
How do you fix it?
- Create a text file named llms.txt and start it with an H1 that is your site name, then one blockquote line that summarizes what the site does.
- Add an H2 section per content area (Docs, Guides, Products) and under each a Markdown list of links with a one-line description per link.
- Publish it at https://yourdomain/llms.txt with content type text/plain or text/markdown, and make sure it returns HTTP 200.
- Optionally publish llms-full.txt with the full text of your key pages concatenated, for assistants that want everything in one request.
- Re-run the audit; the llms.txt check passes when the file has an H1 and at least one valid link.
What goes in an llms.txt file?
The format is deliberately simple: an H1 with the site name, a blockquote with a one or two sentence summary, then H2 sections with Markdown link lists. Keep it under 200 lines; an assistant reads it in one request and follows the links it needs. The format is a community proposal, not a ratified standard, so treat it as a low cost addition rather than a requirement.
Which pages should you link?
Link the pages you would hand a new employee: the product overview, pricing, the top guides, the FAQ, and the contact page. Skip legal pages and anything behind a login.
How much does this check matter?
- This check is worth about 3.6% of the overall score.
- A finished report is reused for 24 hours before you can re-analyze it.
- Each page is fetched with a timeout of 10 seconds, and HTML larger than 2 MB is not audited.
What else do people ask?
- Does Google use llms.txt?
- Google has said it does not use llms.txt for Search. Other assistants and many AI agents do read it, and it costs nothing, so it is still worth publishing.
- How is llms.txt different from robots.txt?
- robots.txt says what crawlers may fetch. llms.txt says what the site is and which pages to read first. One restricts, the other guides.