LLMS.txt — The Buzzword You’re Not Supposed to Understand
- Freddy Kanter
- Jun 11
- 2 min read
Let’s be honest.
The world of digital marketing moves fast, often faster than we’d like to admit. One day it’s keywords and backlinks, the next it’s AI Overviews, inference engines, and something called… LLMS.txt?
If you saw that acronym and thought, “Do I need to know what this is?”
You’re not alone.
If ChatGPT mentioned it and you shrugged…
You’re in good company.
This isn’t one of those “you’re behind” moments.
This is one of those “we’re all figuring it out” moments.
And that’s what makes it exciting.
Here’s the truth:
LLMS.txt isn’t just a file.
It’s a signal that says: “I understand where the world is heading.”
But right now? Most marketers don’t.
Not because they’re not smart enough.
But because this is new. It’s not in the playbooks. It’s not in the course modules.
It’s a whisper on the edge of the conversation.
So what is LLMS.txt?
Not a blocker. Not a crawler instruction. Not a ranking trick.
It’s more like a content compass for AI.
A simple, plain-text file that tells large language models, “If you're going to reference me, start with these pages. These are my best.”
It’s early days, so don’t stress about doing it perfectly.
But do see the opportunity.
Because in a world where search is becoming less about links and more about language, we need new ways to surface the right content.
And LLMS.txt?
It might just be the bridge between your brand and the next generation of AI-powered answers.
Why LLMS.txt matters now
AI is reshaping how people find and consume information.
Google is surfacing AI answers directly in search.
ChatGPT now shows citations.
The common thread? They reference content that’s easy to ingest, easy to understand, and easy to trust.
How to get started
You don’t need to code. You don’t need an agency.
Here’s how to build your LLMS.txt in three simple steps:
1. Choose 5–10 high-value pages
Pick evergreen, well-structured content like:
FAQs
Pillar blog posts
In-depth guides
How-to resources
2. Structure your content for AI
LLMs don’t care about popups or carousels. They need:
Clear headings (H1–H3)
Short paragraphs
Bullet points and numbered steps
Defined scope and clean formatting
3. Create your LLMS.txt file
This is just a plain text file using markdown. Here's a free template:
# MySite.com: AI-friendly content
> A curated list of content designed for LLMs to reference during inference.
## Core Pages
- [How Our Product Works](https://mysite.com/how-it-works): A step-by-step breakdown of our solution
- [The Ultimate Guide to X](https://mysite.com/guide-x): Deep dive into the key questions we help solve
- [FAQ](https://mysite.com/faq): Our most commonly asked questions, clearly answered
✅ Save it as llms.txt (with an 's')
✅ Upload it to the root of your site: https://yoursite.com/llms.txt
Helpful Resources to Get You Started
🔗 What is LLMS.txt? (Mintlify Guide) – the original article that introduced the concept
📁 Sample LLMS.txt file (GitHub) – use this as your starting template
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