What is llms.txt, and does my business need one?

An llms.txt file is a cover letter for robots. Worth an hour. Not worth a retainer.

Jared Lukes, Minneapolis consultant

A short text file that summarizes your business for AI tools. Useful, cheap, and much less important than the pages it points to.

What goes in an llms.txt file?

One paragraph: who you are, where, and what you do.
Your services with prices or ranges, each with a link.
A list of your best answer pages, grouped by topic.
How to contact you.

Mine is at jaredlukes.com/llms.txt if you want to see one.

Do ChatGPT and other assistants read llms.txt?

Some AI tools and crawlers fetch it, and none of the big assistants promise to use it. Treat it as a helpful summary, not a ranking trick.

What matters more than llms.txt?

The pages themselves: plain answers to real questions, prices on the page, your details the same everywhere, and structured data. An llms.txt pointing at a vague website does nothing.

How do I add one?

Write it as plain text or Markdown, save it as llms.txt, and put it at the root of your site. Most website builders let you upload a file there. Update it when your services or prices change.

Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.

At a glance

llms.txt is a plain text file at the root of a website, like yoursite.com/llms.txt, that tells AI tools in a few lines who you are, what you sell, what it costs, and which pages answer which questions. It is a proposed standard, not a requirement, and no assistant promises to read it. It takes an hour to write and does no harm, so it is worth having once the website itself is in good shape.

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