What Are llms.txt Files? The New Standard for AI-Friendly Content
As someone who builds websites and works with AI systems daily, I've experienced firsthand the challenges of making online content truly accessible to large language models.
The problem is simple: while websites are designed for human eyes, AI language models struggle with the complexity of HTML, JavaScript, and sprawling site architectures. That's where llms.txt comes in – a simple yet powerful solution that's quickly becoming the new standard for AI-friendly content.
Here, I'll explain what llms.txt files are, why they matter, and how you can use them to make your website more AI-friendly.
What is an llms.txt File?
An llms.txt file is a specially formatted markdown document that lives at the root of your website (e.g., example.com/llms.txt). It serves as a curated guide for AI language models to understand your website's content more efficiently.
Think of it like a sitemap.xml file, but specifically designed for language models rather than search engines. While a sitemap simply lists all pages, an llms.txt file provides a concise summary of your website or project, organized sections with relevant links to more detailed content, markdown-formatted information that's easy for both humans and AI to read, and optional sections that can be included or excluded depending on context needs.
The Basic Structure
The llms.txt file follows a specific structure:
# Website or Project Name
> A brief summary of what your website or project is about. This should capture the essential information.
Additional context or details about your project can go here.
## Main Documentation
- [Getting Started Guide](https://example.com/guides/getting-started.md): Learn the basics
- [API Reference](https://example.com/api-reference.md): API documentation
## Additional Resources
- [Examples](https://example.com/examples.md): Code examples and use cases
## Optional
- [Community Guidelines](https://example.com/community.md)
- [Change Log](https://example.com/changelog.md)
This format makes it easy for LLMs to quickly grasp what your website is about and find the most relevant information without having to process unnecessary elements like navigation menus, advertisements, or complex JavaScript. Understanding how LLMs actually use these files helps explain why this structure is so effective.
Why llms.txt Matters: The Context Window Challenge
Large language models face a significant constraint: they can only process a limited amount of text at once (known as their "context window"). When an AI attempts to understand a website, it has to process all the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, navigation elements, footers, and other non-essential content – wasting precious context space.
For example, a typical documentation page might contain 20% actual content and 80% navigation, styling, scripts, and other elements.
With llms.txt, you can provide 100% relevant content in a clean, markdown format, organized links to the most important information, and a way for AI systems to efficiently use their limited context window.
This is particularly valuable for technical documentation, APIs, and other complex information that AI systems might need to reference when helping users.
llms-full.txt: The Complete Package
While llms.txt provides structure and navigation, there's also a companion concept: llms-full.txt. This is a file containing all your documentation in one place, making it even easier for AI systems to access your complete content.
The llms-full.txt file is especially useful for AI assistants that need to answer detailed questions about your product, development environments that integrate with AI coding assistants like Cursor, and research tools that need more detailed information about a topic.
By providing both files, you give AI systems the flexibility to either navigate your content structure (llms.txt) or access everything at once (llms-full.txt).
How llms.txt Differs from Existing Standards
You might be wondering how llms.txt compares to existing web standards.
| Standard | Purpose | Limitation for AI |
|---|---|---|
| robots.txt | Tells search engines which pages they can/cannot crawl | Doesn't help with content structure or formatting |
| sitemap.xml | Lists all pages on a site for search engines | Doesn't distinguish between important and secondary content |
| llms.txt | Provides structured, curated content for LLMs | A new standard still gaining adoption |
The key difference is intent. robots.txt and sitemap.xml are built for web crawlers, while llms.txt is specifically designed for reasoning engines that need to understand your content. Each file serves its purpose, and most modern sites benefit from having all three.
Who Created llms.txt and Why?
The llms.txt standard was proposed by Jeremy Howard, co-founder of Answer.AI, to address the specific challenges that AI systems face when trying to understand website content.
The proposal came from a practical need: how can we help AI systems access the information they need without getting bogged down in the complexity of modern websites?
Since its proposal in September 2024, llms.txt has gained rapid adoption, with companies like Anthropic, Mintlify, and Cursor implementing it in their documentation. This growing momentum signals that llms.txt is filling an important gap in the AI ecosystem. You can see how leading companies implement llms.txt by browsing real-world examples.
How to Create an llms.txt File for Your Website
Creating an llms.txt file for your website is straightforward. Start with the basics by including your website/project name and a concise summary, organize your content by grouping related information under clear section headings, link to markdown files with paths to markdown versions of your content, add helpful descriptions with brief explanations of what each link contains, and identify optional content using the "Optional" section for secondary information.
Remember that the goal is to make your content as accessible as possible to AI systems while maintaining a structure that's easy to navigate. Our detailed guide on creating your first llms.txt file walks through each step with examples.
Platform-Specific Implementation
The implementation approach varies depending on your website platform. Most modern CMSs and frameworks have straightforward methods for adding llms.txt files.
For WordPress users, check our guide on adding llms.txt to WordPress, which covers plugin options and manual methods. If you're working with JavaScript frameworks, our Next.js and React implementation guide explains route handlers and static file approaches.
Once you've created your file, use our validation tool to check the format and ensure it follows the standard correctly.
Using llms.txt with AI Chatbots
Since current AI chatbots don't automatically discover and index llms.txt files, you'll need to explicitly provide them. Copy the URL of your llms.txt or llms-full.txt file, paste it into your conversation with an AI assistant like Claude or ChatGPT, and ask specific questions about your content.
This allows the AI to have the full context of your documentation when providing answers or assistance.
Real-World Examples
Seeing how others implement llms.txt can provide inspiration for your own file. Browse our directory of sites using llms.txt to explore implementations across different industries and site types. From developer tools to SaaS platforms, you'll find examples that match your use case.
Companies like Stripe organize their files by product categories, Zapier structures theirs around API endpoints, and Cloudflare groups content by developer services. Each approach works because it matches the site's natural content organization.
How to Create an llms.txt file
Creating an llms.txt file for your website is straightforward with our free tool.
If you want to learn how to create the file yourself, read our guide on the topic: How to Create Your First llms.txt File: A Step-by-Step Guide
You can also learn about creating the full-content version in our guide on how to create an llms-full.txt file.
The Relationship with SEO
Many website owners wonder how llms.txt fits into their SEO strategy. While llms.txt primarily serves AI systems rather than traditional search engines, there's an interesting intersection. Our article on llms.txt and SEO explores how these files work alongside your existing optimization efforts and may become increasingly important as AI-powered search grows.
Conclusion: The Future of AI-Friendly Content
As AI becomes an increasingly important part of how we interact with websites and documentation, standards like llms.txt will play a crucial role in making that interaction seamless and effective.
By implementing llms.txt on your website, you're not just making your content more accessible to AI – you're preparing for a future where the distinction between human-readable and AI-readable content becomes increasingly important.
Whether you're maintaining documentation for a software library, creating content for a corporate website, or building a personal portfolio, llms.txt offers a simple yet effective way to ensure your content is ready for the AI age.
Questions about implementation? Check our FAQ or reach out for personalized guidance.
Additional Resources
- Official llms.txt Proposal - The original proposal by Jeremy Howard
- 7 Top Companies Using llms.txt - See how other websites are implementing it
- Markdown Guide - Learn more about writing effective markdown
