Answers below match the FAQPage JSON-LD on this page for AI search engines.
What is llms.txt and who reads it?▼
llms.txt is a Markdown index file placed at the root of a website that tells large language model agents (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.) which pages are canonical, high-value, and safe to summarise. Spec: https://llmstxt.org/.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt or sitemap.xml?▼
No. robots.txt controls crawler access, sitemap.xml lists every URL for traditional search engines, and llms.txt is a curated, human-readable index of your most important content for LLM agents. They complement each other.
Will adding llms.txt directly affect my Google ranking?▼
Not directly. It primarily helps AI engines build cleaner summaries and pick correct citation targets. Indirect SEO benefits come from improved AI mentions, brand entity strength, and reduced summarisation errors.
How often should I update llms.txt?▼
Whenever you ship a new high-value page (a new tool, a hub guide, a pricing change). Small blog updates do not warrant a refresh. A weekly review for active sites is plenty.
Where should I host the file?▼
At the exact path https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt with Content-Type: text/plain. Avoid auth, redirects, or geo-blocks; LLM crawlers will give up after one failed fetch.