How to Create an llms.txt: Guide and Template for Businesses

Mario Fahlandt · October 5, 2026 · approx. 7 min read

To create an llms.txt you need neither an agency nor software, just 30 minutes and a text editor. The file is the most direct way to give AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity the key facts about your business: structured, compact, and free of the usual noise of navigation menus, cookie banners and marketing sliders. This guide explains what llms.txt is, who actually reads the file, and how to build your own step by step. A copy-paste template is included.

What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a plain text file in Markdown format that lives in the root directory of your website, at your-domain.com/llms.txt. It was proposed as an open standard by Jeremy Howard in 2024. The idea: while robots.txt tells crawlers what they may do, llms.txt tells language models what matters.

The background is a technical problem. When answering a question, AI systems have limited room for context. A typical company website wastes that room on menus, footers, cookie notices and duplicated content. llms.txt delivers a curated summary instead: who you are, what you offer, where the details live.

There is also the optional llms-full.txt, a more extensive variant that contains full content rather than just links.

Who actually reads the file?

An honest assessment is part of the deal: llms.txt is a young standard, not an officially confirmed ranking factor. The current state:

• Anthropic (Claude) publishes an llms.txt itself and adopted the standard early.
• Developer tools and AI agents such as coding assistants and research agents actively use llms.txt to load documentation efficiently.
• OpenAI and Google have not confirmed official support. Their crawlers do demonstrably download the file when it exists, as many site owners' server logs show.
• Hundreds of software companies from Stripe to Zapier already use llms.txt, mostly for technical documentation.

The cost-benefit ratio is clear regardless: the effort is under an hour, the risk is zero, and if the standard takes off you are in early. For assessing your own AI readability the file already counts today; it is one of the eight criteria in our AI readiness audit as well.

Structure: how an llms.txt is organized

The standard defines a lean format:

1. One H1 heading with the company name (the only required element)
2. A blockquote with a one-to-two-sentence summary
3. Optional paragraphs with context
4. H2 sections with link lists to your most important pages, each with a short description

Template to copy

This template fits a typical service business. Replace the placeholders and delete what does not apply:

# [Company name]

> [Company name] is [what you are, e.g. "a metal fabrication shop"]
> in [city/region] offering [core services] for [target customers].

Founded [year]. [Number] employees. [1 sentence on specifics,
e.g. certifications, specialization, service area.]

## Services

- [Services](https://your-domain.com/services): Overview of all
  offerings with pricing
- [Service A](https://your-domain.com/service-a): [1 sentence on
  what this is and who it is for]
- [Service B](https://your-domain.com/service-b): [1 sentence]

## Company

- [About us](https://your-domain.com/about): History, team,
  qualifications
- [References](https://your-domain.com/references): Selected
  projects with pictures
- [Contact](https://your-domain.com/contact): Address, phone,
  directions, opening hours

## Optional

- [Blog](https://your-domain.com/blog): Guides and articles on
  [topic area]

The "Optional" section has a special meaning in the standard: an AI system may skip content below it when context space runs out. Put the nice-to-have material there.

Step by step to your own file

Step 1: Collect the facts (10 minutes)

Write down: official company name, legal form, location, founding year, core services, target customers, differentiators. Use exactly the same spelling as in your legal notice and your Google Business profile. Consistency is a trust signal for AI systems.

Step 2: Prioritize pages (5 minutes)

Pick the 5 to 10 most important pages of your website. Criterion: would a new customer need this page to make a decision? Legal notice and privacy policy do not belong in the file.

Step 3: Write the file (10 minutes)

Fill in the template. Write factually and concretely. "Leading provider of innovative solutions" helps no language model; "fabrication of steel staircases and railings for commercial clients in Upper Bavaria" does.

Step 4: Upload and test (5 minutes)

Upload the file as llms.txt (UTF-8, lowercase) to the root directory of your website. Test in the browser that your-domain.com/llms.txt shows the file as plain text. If your CMS does not expose the root directory, a plugin or your hosting support will usually help.

Three mistakes to avoid

• Marketing language: The file is for machines, not customers. Superlatives and buzzwords dilute the facts.
• Letting it rot: An llms.txt with dead links or old prices does more harm than none. Set a reminder every 6 months.
• Blocking AI bots at the same time: An llms.txt is useless if your robots.txt blocks GPTBot and ClaudeBot. Check both files together. How to test whether AI systems find your business at all is covered in our AI visibility self-test.