The llms.txt Protocol
Make your business directly discoverable for AI systems
The llms.txt Protocol
The llms.txt protocol is an open standard that allows websites to make structured information available to AI systems. Similar to robots.txt for search engines, llms.txt tells ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity exactly what your business does, what services you offer, and how you want to be found.
What is llms.txt?
The llms.txt file is an open standard for communicating with AI systems. It is a plain text file you place at the root of your website (e.g., yoursite.com/llms.txt) containing structured information about your business, specifically designed for Large Language Models.
The concept is similar to robots.txt but in reverse. Where robots.txt tells search engines what they cannot do, llms.txt tells AI systems what your business does and how it wants to be found. The protocol was popularized by Anthropic and is now broadly supported.
llms.txt is not a replacement for good web content. It is a supplement that helps AI systems quickly and accurately understand your business without having to crawl your entire website. Think of it as a business card for machines.
What Goes in an llms.txt?
A good llms.txt file starts with your company name and a short description. Next, it contains core facts: location, founding year, team, specializations. Then follows an overview of your services with brief descriptions of each.
Pricing information is optional but valuable. AI systems often get questions like 'how much does an AI chatbot cost?' and if your llms.txt contains pricing indications, the AI system can mention your business. Also add a FAQ section with frequently asked questions and concise answers.
For larger businesses, there is also llms-full.txt: an extended version with more details, case studies, and in-depth information. The base llms.txt file should remain compact (max 2000 words), while llms-full.txt can be more extensive. Always close with contact information and links to your most important pages.
How Do You Implement llms.txt?
Step 1: create an llms.txt file in your /public folder (for Next.js projects) or at the root of your web server. Use markdown-like formatting with clear headers. Start with '# Company Name' followed by a one-sentence summary.
Step 2: structure your content with sections. Use '## Core Facts' for business facts, '## Services' for services, '## Pricing' for pricing, and '## FAQ' for frequently asked questions. Keep each section concise and factual. Avoid marketing language; AI systems value objective information.
Step 3: make your llms.txt discoverable. Add a reference in your robots.txt ('# See also: /llms.txt'), include it in your sitemap.xml, and link to it from your website footer. Test by visiting your llms.txt URL in the browser and verify it displays correctly. Update the file with every significant change to your services or pricing.
Find out if your website has an llms.txt file and how it scores on all 8 GEO factors.
Check Your GEO Score
Want AIFAIS to optimize all 8 factors? View GEO Packages
Frequently Asked Questions
Is llms.txt required for GEO?
Not required, but strongly recommended. llms.txt gives AI systems a structured summary of your business. Without this file, AI crawlers must analyze your entire website, leading to less accurate citations. With llms.txt, you significantly increase the chance of correct mentions.
How long should my llms.txt file be?
The base llms.txt file should be compact: maximum 1500-2000 words. Focus on the essentials: who you are, what you do, for whom, and why. For more extensive information, use llms-full.txt, which can be as long as needed.
Ready to get found by AI?
Let AIFAIS optimize your website for ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google SGE. More visibility, more citations, more customers.
Back to GEO Knowledge Base