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

> What llms.txt is, who uses it, what it doesn't do for search, whether your website needs one, and how to make one in a few minutes.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/blog/what-is-llms-txt
Last updated: 2026-11-05

AI agent guides · by The HeyKiko team · published 5 November 2026 · 6 min read

llms.txt is a short Markdown file at the root of a website that gives AI tools a map of it: the site's name, a one-line summary, and links to its key pages with a sentence each. It's mainly used by AI tools that fetch pages to answer a question on demand. Google says you don't need special AI files to appear in its AI Overviews or AI Mode, so treat llms.txt as a cheap extra, not a replacement for clear, crawlable pages.

## What llms.txt is

Jeremy Howard proposed llms.txt in September 2024, and llmstxt.org published version 2 of the format in August 2026. It's a plain Markdown file named llms.txt, usually at the site's root, such as yoursite.com/llms.txt. [llmstxt.org](https://llmstxt.org/)

The parts of an llms.txt file, in order

| Part | What it holds | Required? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A title line (H1) | The site's or project's name | Yes, the only required part |
| A quote (blockquote) | A one-line summary of what you do | No |
| Notes | Any detail that helps read the rest; anything but headings | No |
| Sections (H2) of links | Each key page's title, linked to its address, with a short note | No |
| An “Optional” section | Links a tool can skip when it has little room, such as blog posts | No |

## Who uses it

- AI labs publish their own: according to llmstxt.org, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google publish llms.txt files for their developer documentation.
- Browsers check for it: llmstxt.org says Chrome's Lighthouse looks for one in its checks for agentic browsing.
- Platforms make it: documentation and website tools such as Mintlify, GitBook, Yoast SEO, AIOSEO and Wix can generate one.
- Mostly for answering on demand: llmstxt.org says it's mainly used by AI tools answering questions there and then, rather than for training.

## What it doesn't do

It isn't a ranking switch for search. Google's guidance for its AI features says: “You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features.” Its page doesn't mention llms.txt at all. [Google: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

- It doesn't replace robots.txt, which says what crawlers may fetch.
- It doesn't replace your sitemap, which lists every page for search engines.
- It doesn't make a thin page useful: it points tools to pages, and the pages still have to answer the question.

## Does your website need one?

Whether a website needs an llms.txt file

| If your site… | Then |
| --- | --- |
| Has documentation, a help centre or many pages | Yes: it helps AI tools find the right page quickly |
| Is a small business site | Nice to have: it takes minutes and costs nothing |
| Isn't crawlable, or has little text | Fix that first: llms.txt can't help pages tools can't read |

The honest answer for most businesses: add one, because it's cheap and low-risk, but spend more of your time on clear pages that answer what customers ask.

## How to make one

1. **Generate a draft**: From your sitemap and your pages' own titles and descriptions, with our free [llms.txt generator](https://heykiko.io/tools/llms-txt-generator), or your website platform if it has one.
2. **Read it through**: Fix descriptions that are missing or vague, remove pages that don't help, and put less important links under Optional.
3. **Upload it to your root**: So it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. llmstxt.org also allows one under a path, such as /docs/llms.txt, for part of a site.
4. **Keep it current**: Regenerate it when you add or rename important pages.

## What matters more for AI answers

Google's advice for its AI features is the same as for search: pages that are indexed and can show a snippet, crawling allowed in robots.txt and by your host or CDN, internal links that make pages easy to find, important content in text rather than images, and structured data that matches what's on the page. [Google: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

Check how your own site looks to an AI with our free [website AI readiness checker](https://heykiko.io/tools/website-ai-readiness-checker).

## Your own AI agent, on your own site

llms.txt helps other people's AI tools find your pages. An AI chatbot of your own reads them directly: HeyKiko turns the pages you choose and your documents into its knowledge base, and answers your customers from it on your website, WhatsApp and Telegram. HeyKiko publishes [its own llms.txt](https://heykiko.io/llms.txt) too.

## Sources

Checked on 5 November 2026. We make HeyKiko, which this guide uses as its example.

- [llmstxt.org: the llms.txt format](https://llmstxt.org/)
- [Google: AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)

## Questions people ask

### What is llms.txt?

A Markdown file at a website's root that gives AI tools a short map of the site: its name, a summary, and links to key pages with a sentence each. Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024.

### Does Google use llms.txt?

Google's guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode says you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup to appear in them, and doesn't mention llms.txt. According to llmstxt.org, Google publishes one for its Gemini developer documentation.

### Will llms.txt get my site into ChatGPT or AI answers?

Not by itself. It helps AI tools that read it find your key pages; whether you're quoted depends on pages that clearly answer the question.

### Where does llms.txt go?

At your site's root, so it opens at yoursite.com/llms.txt. The format also allows one under a path, such as /docs/llms.txt, for that part of the site.

### Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?

No. robots.txt tells crawlers what they may fetch; llms.txt lists what's worth reading. Keep both, and your sitemap.

### How do I create an llms.txt file?

Generate a draft from your sitemap and pages, read it through and fix the descriptions, then upload it to your site's root. HeyKiko's free generator does the first step in about half a minute.

## Related

- [Free llms.txt generator](https://heykiko.io/tools/llms-txt-generator)
- [Website AI readiness checker](https://heykiko.io/tools/website-ai-readiness-checker)
- [How to train a chatbot on your website](https://heykiko.io/blog/how-to-train-a-chatbot-on-your-website)
- [What is RAG, in plain words](https://heykiko.io/blog/what-is-rag)
- [All guides](https://heykiko.io/blog)