The llms.txt file is the fastest, simplest thing you can add to your website to improve AI search visibility. This guide explains what it is, why it works, and exactly how to create and deploy one in under 30 minutes.
What is llms.txt?
The llms.txt file is a plain-text document placed at the root of your website (e.g., yourdomain.com/llms.txt). It follows a loose standard proposed by fast.ai and increasingly adopted across the web, designed to help large language models (LLMs) quickly understand your website's content and purpose.
Think of it like robots.txt (which tells search crawlers what to access) but designed for AI models instead. While robots.txt controls access, llms.txt provides context — a human-readable, AI-readable summary of your business, key pages, and important information.
Why Does llms.txt Matter?
When ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or Claude crawl your site, they process thousands of pages and try to infer what your business does, who you serve, and how authoritative you are. Without guidance, they may:
- Misidentify your primary service or audience
- Focus on less important pages (like your blog instead of your main service)
- Fail to establish a clear "entity identity" for your business
llms.txt short-circuits this by giving the AI a clean, structured overview before it digs into your site. It's a direct line of communication to the AI models deciding whether to recommend you.
The Standard Format
The llms.txt format uses simple Markdown:
# Company Name
> Short description of your company (1–2 sentences)
## Products/Services
- [Product/Service Name](URL): Brief description
- [Product/Service Name](URL): Brief description
## About
Short paragraph about your company: who you are, what you do,
who you serve, and any relevant credentials or history.
## Key Content
- [Most important page title](URL): Why it matters
- [Blog/Documentation](URL): What it contains
## Contact
- Website: https://yourdomain.com
- Email: contact@yourdomain.comStep-by-Step: Creating Your llms.txt
Step 1: Write Your Core Description
Start with one sentence that clearly states what your business does. Avoid jargon. Be specific about who you serve and what outcome you deliver.
Example: "GetFoundInChat helps businesses appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini answers by auditing and fixing their AI search visibility signals."
Step 2: List Your Key Products or Services
For each offering, write the name, link to its page, and a one-sentence description. Include the price if it's publicly available — AI models often use pricing information when making recommendations.
Step 3: Write a Clear "About" Section
2–4 sentences covering: what you do, who your typical customer is, and any credentials that establish authority (years in business, notable clients, specific expertise).
Step 4: Link to Your Most Valuable Pages
Point the AI directly to your best content — your most comprehensive guides, case studies, tools, or documentation. These are the pages you want to be cited from.
Step 5: Deploy It
Place the file at /public/llms.txt (for Next.js) or the static root of your web server. It should be accessible at yourdomain.com/llms.txt and return a 200 HTTP status.
For Next.js Projects
Simply create the file at public/llms.txt — Next.js will serve it automatically as a static asset.
For Other Frameworks
Place it in your public/static directory, or configure a route that returns the plain text file with Content-Type: text/plain.
Verify It's Working
After deploying, verify:
curl https://yourdomain.com/llms.txtYou should see your content returned as plain text with a 200 status code.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Marketing language: Write for clarity, not persuasion. AI models don't respond to "revolutionary" or "cutting-edge".
- Incomplete listings: If you have 10 services, list all 10. Don't just feature your newest offering.
- Stale content: Update llms.txt when you add new products, change pricing, or publish major new content.
- Wrong file location: It must be at the domain root (
/llms.txt), not in a subdirectory.
Real Example: GetFoundInChat's llms.txt
You can see a live example at getfoundinchat.com/llms.txt. Notice how it clearly states what we do, who we serve, and links directly to our mini-audit tool and key service pages.
What About llms-full.txt?
Some implementations include a companion llms-full.txt file that contains more comprehensive content — full documentation, all blog posts, detailed FAQs. For most businesses, starting with a well-written llms.txt is sufficient. Add the fuller version later if you have extensive documentation.
Check Your Full AI Visibility Score
llms.txt is just one of 9 signals that influence whether AI search engines cite your business. Run our free mini-audit to see your complete score and exactly which signals need attention.