llms.txt

Do you really need an llms.txt file?

No, it's not a file you must have. llms.txt is a format proposed by Jeremy Howard at llmstxt.org in September 2024, and it isn't an official standard agreed on by search engines or AI companies.

In June 2026, Google wrote in its guidance that files like llms.txt aren't needed for Google Search and have no effect, good or bad, on visibility or rankings. The same guidance also said it's fine to maintain such files for other services or systems.

So the accurate way to see llms.txt is not as "something you lose out without," but as "a summary some AI tools may refer to." It takes little effort to make, so treat it as a final touch to add once your website's main content is complete.

The proposal says its goal is to help AI quickly grasp a site's content within a limited amount of text. That's also why it first caught on with developer documentation sites, which have a lot of content.

What goes in an llms.txt file, and in what order?

llms.txt is written in Markdown (a simple text format where headings start with # and list items with -), in an order set by the proposal, and the only required part is the single line with the site name at the top.

The "Optional" section is where you collect links that AI tools can skip when they need to read less. Put must-know pages in the earlier lists and nice-to-have pages under Optional.

You can add a one-line description after a colon (:) for each link in a list. If you write something like "Price list: bouquet · subscription prices," AI tools can tell what's on the page before even opening the link.

How do you create and upload an llms.txt file?

Keep llms.txt as short as possible. Rather than pasting in whole pages, it fits the original purpose better to make it a signpost that tells AI where to read.

The proposal also recommends offering a separate Markdown version of each important page at the same address with .md added to the end. It isn't required for a business website, but it's worth considering if you have a blog with lots of posts or guide documents.

Some website builders can generate llms.txt automatically. Even if it was generated for you, open it at least once and check that your business description and page list are in the order you want customers to see.

1. 01Write a one-line description of your business that covers where, for whom and what.
2. 02Pick the 5–10 pages customers most need to see, like prices, booking, directions and FAQ.
3. 03Make a list with each page's address and a one-line description.
4. 04Write your hours, closed days and phone number exactly as they appear on your website, down to the last character.
5. 05Save it as a UTF-8 llms.txt file and upload it to the top level of your website.
6. 06Open the file in a browser and check that Korean text isn't garbled and every link opens.
7. 07When prices, the menu or hours change, update the file on the same day you update your website.

How is llms.txt different from robots.txt and a sitemap?

All three are guide files that sit on your website, but they're read by different things and do different jobs: robots.txt sets access rules, a sitemap lists all your pages, and llms.txt is a summary you hand to AI.

So creating llms.txt can't replace robots.txt or a sitemap. If you block AI crawlers in robots.txt and only upload llms.txt, it's like putting up a sign and then locking the door.

robots.txt can include a line pointing to your sitemap's address (Sitemap:). That's why, of the three files, robots.txt can also act as the entrance to the others.

What are common llms.txt mistakes?

The most common mistake is making it once and forgetting about it. If you change prices on your website but llms.txt still has the old ones, you're handing wrong information to any tool that reads the file.

It's also important not to put personal information or links to internal material in llms.txt. It's a public file that anyone can open if they know the address.

• Promotional lines or exaggerated claims that appear only in llms.txt, not in your website's content
• Addresses of deleted pages still left in the list
• Putting off cleaning up your page content after hearing "llms.txt alone gets you into AI answers"
• Pasting the entire site's text into one file so it becomes far too long

What should you ask your web agency about llms.txt?

Ask your web agency: "Does llms.txt update automatically when the website content changes, or do I have to edit it myself?" If the file is generated from the business information in the admin panel, there's less chance of the details falling out of sync.