What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a suggested standard - a simple Markdown file that is stored in the web root as a /llms.txt is stored. It is used to provide large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude or Google Gemini with a curated, clearly arranged version of your most important pages.

In contrast to robots.txtthat restricts crawling, or sitemap.xmlwhich only lists all URLs, returns llms.txt structured content such as:

• Title your website
• Brief description (block quote)
• Sections (H2) with bullet lists and links to the most important pages (mintlify.com)

The idea comes from Jeremy Howard (september 2024) to help LLMs understand your content more efficiently (llmstxt.org).

What does an llms.txt file do?

1. Better readability for LLMs
   Instead of complex HTML with JavaScript, navigation and advertising, LLMs only read the essentials - faster, more cost-efficient (llmstxt.org, reddit.com).
2. Targeted content control
   You decide which areas are important - ideal for developer docs, product pages or guides, for example.
3. Preparation for future LLM indexing
   Although no major provider currently uses llms.txtbut early adopters such as Mintlify, Anthropic and Cloudflare are already actively testing it (ahrefs.com).

Does llms.txt make sense in the SEO context?

Advantages

• Little effort, no risk
  Creation in minutes, no negative effects if LLMs avoid it today (ahrefs.com).
• GEO relevance
  Part of a new SEO discipline ("Generative Engine Optimization"), which is all about AI visibility (en.wikipedia.org).
• Early adoption
  Tools like Yoast SEO already offer automatic generation - a future-proof measure.

Boundaries & criticism

• Still no support from large LLMs
  John Mueller (Google) compared it to the useless keywords meta tag: currently it is ignored (ahrefs.com, searchenginejournal.com).
• Double the maintenance effort
  Some add extra content in Markdown format - maintenance must be done twice (mintlify.com).
• Certified reading experience required
  Some critics warn that LLMs could be based on .md-pages - which could disturb users (reddit.com).

Conclusion: Useful at the moment - but not a must-have

Pro	Contra
✅ Created quickly, hardly any effort	❌ Still without effect for LLM crawling
✅ GEO-suitable, few side effects	❌ Maintenance of additional Markdown content
✅ Forward-looking (Yoast, Mintlify, Anthropic)	❌ Quality evidence is still lacking

At the moment llms.txt an optional, but useful and future-oriented feature. Those who want to clearly structure their most important LLM content will benefit:

• Small code, product or documentation pages: useful
• Large content magazines without an AI focus: less urgent

The best strategy: Easy entry, observe whether agents support the format in the futureand, if interested, use automated tools like Yoast or Mintlify (yoast.com, mintlify.com).

Sample structure of an llms.txt

# My web project
> Overview of products, instructions and support.

## Products
- Product A](https://example.com/produkt-a): Brief description
- Product B](https://example.com/produkt-b): Brief description

## Help & Support
- FAQ](https://example.com/faq): Frequently asked questions
- Contact](https://example.com/kontakt): Forms & Support

Tip: Always accessible file under https://deinedomain.de/llms.txt - ideally automated via CI/CD.

Conclusion:
llms.txt is NOT an SEO gamechanger in the classic sense - but an easy way to optimize your web project for the next wave of AI indexing to prepare. Low risk, potentially high future payoff.