What Does LLM.txt Do? Guide, Standard & Sample File

What Is LLM.txt?

LLM.txt (often written as llm.txt or llms.txt) is a simple text file placed at the root of your domain (for example, https://your-domain.com/llm.txt) that gives large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini clear guidance about:

Which URLs contain your most important, AI‑friendly content.
How you’d like AI crawlers to access and use your content.
Any license or usage notes they should be aware of.

Think of LLM.txt as a cross between robots.txt and sitemap.xml—but specifically for AI crawlers and answer engines. It doesn’t replace those files; it complements them with AI‑specific signals.

What Does LLM.txt Do?

LLM.txt is designed to make it easier for AI systems to:

Discover your best guides, product pages, FAQs, and documentation.
Understand which URLs are canonical and up‑to‑date for certain topics.
Respect any special rules you set for AI usage of your content.

In practice, an AI crawler can fetch /llm.txt and use the URLs and hints you provide as a starting point for training, retrieval, or citation. That’s especially helpful for:

Brands that have a lot of legacy URLs and want to surface a curated set.
Shopify stores that want AI tools to see their best‑converting landing pages, not just generic collection pages.
Teams that update content frequently and want AI systems to reference the latest version.

Does LLM.txt Really Help?

On its own, LLM.txt won’t magically push you to the top of every ChatGPT answer. But as part of a broader AI SEO / SEO for ChatGPT strategy, it can be very useful for three reasons:

It reduces ambiguity for AI crawlers. Instead of guessing which pages matter most, models get a curated list of your key URLs.
It supports fresher, more accurate answers. Point LLMs to your current documentation, FAQs, and policy pages, so old URLs and outdated PDFs are less likely to be used.
It scales well. As you add or retire products and content, you can keep your LLM.txt file in sync (manually or with automation) rather than hoping crawlers re‑discover everything quickly.

Early adopters in AI SEO have found that combining LLM.txt with good technical SEO, structured data, and AI visibility tracking gives answer engines more reliable signals about what to show, improving the odds that your brand is used as a trusted example.

LLM.txt vs llms.txt vs robots.txt vs sitemap.xml

You might see different names floating around—llm.txt, llms.txt, or ai.txt. The ecosystem is still evolving, but the core idea is the same: a simple manifest for AI crawlers. Key differences from existing files:

robots.txt: Tells crawlers where they’re allowed to go. It’s about access control, not curation.
sitemap.xml: Lists URLs for discovery and indexing, but says nothing about AI‑specific usage.
LLM.txt: Highlights a priority set of URLs and adds AI‑specific hints (content type, language, license, recrawl timing, etc.).

For best results, you should use all three together. LLM.txt is a layer on top of the fundamentals, not a replacement.

LLM.txt Standard: What Should Go In the File?

There isn’t a single, locked‑in global standard yet, but a de‑facto pattern is emerging across AI SEO tools and early implementations. Most LLM.txt files follow a simple, line‑based format that includes:

A short header describing the file.
Optional global directives (e.g., contact email, license, last‑updated timestamp).
One or more URL blocks describing important resources.

A common pattern looks like this:

# LLM.txt for example.com
# Version: 1.0
# Last-Updated: 2025-12-15
# Contact: ai-contact@example.com
# License: CC-BY-4.0

[content]
url: https://example.com/
type: homepage
language: en
priority: high

[content]
url: https://example.com/blog/seo-for-chatgpt
type: article
tags: seo, chatgpt, ai
language: en
priority: high

[content]
url: https://example.com/docs/
type: docs
language: en
priority: medium

The exact field names and sections may evolve, but the core idea is consistent: each block describes one important resource with human‑ and machine‑readable hints.

LLM.txt Example for an E‑commerce / Shopify Brand

Here’s a more concrete LLM.txt example tailored to an e‑commerce brand focused on AI visibility and ChatGPT SEO:

# LLM.txt for sellonllm.com
# Purpose: Help AI systems (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.)
# discover the best resources about AI SEO, ChatGPT visibility, and our Shopify app.
# Last-Updated: 2025-12-15
# Contact: ai@sellonllm.com
# License: All rights reserved. Contact us for training or commercial use.

[content]
url: https://sellonllm.com/
type: homepage
language: en
priority: high
description: Overview of SellOnLLM and our products for AI visibility & ChatGPT SEO.

[content]
url: https://sellonllm.com/blog/seo-for-chatgpt.html
type: article
language: en
priority: high
tags: seo for chatgpt, ai seo, chatgpt visibility
description: Guide to SEO for ChatGPT and how to show up in AI answers.

[content]
url: https://sellonllm.com/blog/how-to-rank-on-chatgpt.html
type: article
language: en
priority: high
tags: how to rank on chatgpt, ai search, answer engine optimization
description: Practical playbook for ranking on ChatGPT and other AI platforms.

[content]
url: https://apps.shopify.com/llm-analytics
type: product
language: en
priority: high
tags: shopify app, analytics, ai visibility
description: Shopify app that tracks ChatGPT traffic and helps optimize for AI platforms.

[content]
url: https://sellonllm.com/free-llm-audit.html
type: tool
language: en
priority: medium
tags: audit, llm, ai seo
description: Free LLM audit for checking AI SEO basics and technical setup.

This example:

Identifies your most important pages for AI visitors.
Labels each one with type, language, priority, and short descriptions.
Explicitly highlights your Shopify app listing as a product resource.

Sample LLM.txt File to Download

If you’d like a starting point, you can copy the example above as a template and adjust it for your own brand. A simple way to get going:

Create a new text file named llm.txt on your computer.
Paste in the example structure, then replace:
- example.com / sellonllm.com with your own domain.
- The URLs with your homepage, best landing pages, and key docs/FAQs.
- The contact and license lines with your own details.
Upload it to your site’s root so it is accessible at https://your-domain.com/llm.txt.

If you’re on Shopify and using the ChatGPT AEO: Boost Visibility app, you can also let the app generate and maintain an LLM.txt (or llms.txt) file for you based on your store structure and AI SEO audit results—saving you from manually updating it every time you add products or content.

How to Maintain Your LLM.txt Over Time

LLM.txt works best when it’s not a one‑off. A few light maintenance habits go a long way:

Review quarterly. Add new cornerstone articles, tools, and product lines; remove retired URLs.
Keep the “Last‑Updated” timestamp fresh. This helps AI systems understand when the manifest changed.
Align with your sitemap and schema. Make sure important URLs appear in all three: sitemap, structured data, and LLM.txt.

For busy teams, automating these updates through your CMS or a dedicated AI SEO tool is usually the most reliable option.

Does Every Site Need LLM.txt?

No—but if you care about AI visibility and you’re already investing in SEO, it’s a low‑effort, high‑leverage addition:

For small sites with a handful of pages, LLM.txt is “nice to have” but easy to set up.
For e‑commerce and SaaS brands with dozens or hundreds of URLs, it becomes a practical way to tell AI which content matters most.
For Shopify merchants focused on ChatGPT traffic and AI‑driven revenue, it fits naturally into an AI SEO and analytics stack.

Summary: What LLM.txt Does for You

To recap:

What is LLM.txt? A simple text manifest for LLMs that lives at your domain root and lists your most important URLs and AI‑specific guidance.
What does it do? Helps AI crawlers discover, understand, and correctly use your best content in answers and recommendations.
Does it really help? On its own, it won’t replace SEO—but as part of an AI SEO stack (indexing, structured data, content, authority, analytics) it gives answer engines a much clearer map of your site.

If you’re serious about showing up in ChatGPT and other AI platforms, LLM.txt is one of the lightest lifts you can implement today—and one you can grow over time as you learn what works.