Add an llms.txt file
llms.txt is a proposed standard (llmstxt.org): a Markdown file at the root of a site that gives AI assistants a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. It is to AI tools roughly what a sitemap is to search engines, but written for reading rather than crawling. This check asks whether the site serves one; an HTML page or an empty body at /llms.txt does not count. Because the standard is still a proposal, a missing llms.txt is shown as a recommendation but does not lower your score.
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Check your site freeWhy it matters
AI assistants increasingly answer questions about businesses directly. An llms.txt gives them a concise, accurate summary and the right links, instead of leaving them to guess from pages built for people.
How to fix
- 1 Create a Markdown file named llms.txt at the root of the site.
- 2 Start it with a # heading naming the site, then a > one-line summary of what it offers.
- 3 Add ## sections listing your key pages as Markdown links, each with a short note on what it covers.
- 4 Serve it as plain text with a 200 status, not the app page.
Common mistakes
- Serving the app page at /llms.txt with a 200 status, so tools receive HTML instead of the file.
- Pasting the whole site into it. It is meant to be short: a title, a one-line summary and curated links.
- Letting it go stale. Links to removed pages, old prices or retired products are repeated back to users by assistants.
How to verify
- 1 Open /llms.txt on the site in a browser and confirm it shows Markdown text starting with a # heading.
- 2 Follow every link in it and confirm each one loads.
- 3 Ask an AI assistant about your business and check that its answer matches what the file says.
Related checks
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