llms.txt: The Complete Guide for SaaS Founders
llms.txt is the robots.txt for AI systems — a simple plain-text file that tells ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini exactly what your product does and who it's for. Sites with valid llms.txt get cited roughly 3x more often. Here's the full template, the extended llms-full.txt format, and the writing tips that actually move the needle.
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1What Is llms.txt
llms.txt is a plain-text file you place at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It's written in Markdown and gives AI language models a structured, easy-to-parse summary of your product.
The concept was proposed by Jeremy Howard (fast.ai) and is quickly becoming a standard for AI-ready websites. It's analogous to:
- robots.txt — tells crawlers what to index
- sitemap.xml — tells search engines your URL structure
- llms.txt — tells AI systems what your product is and does
2Why It Matters for AI Visibility
AI assistants don't always crawl your full website when answering questions. They work from training data and, when they do browse, they prefer structured, easy-to-parse content. JavaScript-heavy single-page apps are often difficult for AI crawlers to fully parse.
llms.txt solves this by giving AI systems a single, definitive source of truth about your product — no JavaScript, no navigation, no UI — just clean, structured information in Markdown format that any LLM can read and reason about.
Sites with llms.txt get +3 points on our AI Exposure Score for agent readiness and are more likely to be accurately cited and recommended by AI assistants.
Free llms.txt validator
Already deployed an llms.txt? Validate it against the spec and see how AI parses it.
3What Goes In It
A good llms.txt includes:
4The Template
Here's a template you can adapt for your product. Drop in your specifics, save it as llms.txt, and place it at your site root.
# YourProduct > One-sentence description of what your product does and who it's for. ## What We Do - Key capability 1 - Key capability 2 - Key capability 3 ## Who It's For - Target user type 1 - Target user type 2 ## Key Features - **Feature Name**: Brief description - **Feature Name**: Brief description ## Pricing - Free: What's included - Paid Plan ($X/month): What's included ## Stats - X+ users - X checks / audits / etc. ## Contact Website: https://yourproduct.com
Auto-generate llms.txt from your site
Scan your site — we'll generate a ready-to-deploy llms.txt based on your actual product content.
5llms-full.txt: The Extended Version
Beyond llms.txt, you can also create /llms-full.txt — a comprehensive, detailed description of your product for AI systems that want deeper context. Think of llms.txt as the executive summary and llms-full.txt as the full product documentation.
llms-full.txt can include: detailed feature descriptions, technical architecture, all pricing details, integration partners, target user segments, and company background.
6Tips for Writing an Effective llms.txt
Lead with your strongest one-liner
The first description is what AI systems use as a quick summary. Make it specific and keyword-rich.
Be specific about pricing
AI systems are asked 'how much does X cost?' constantly. Include exact prices and what's included at each tier.
Include quantifiable metrics
'500+ users' or '19 security checks' gives AI systems specific facts to cite, making your product more quotable.
Keep it updated
Outdated information in llms.txt can cause AI systems to give wrong answers about your product. Update it whenever pricing or features change.
Use Markdown formatting
Headers (##), bullet lists (-), and bold (**) help AI systems parse the structure correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a plain-text Markdown file you place at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt. It gives AI language models a structured, easy-to-parse summary of your product — what it does, who it's for, pricing, key features. Think of it as robots.txt for AI: instead of saying what to block, it says what AI should know about your product.
Why does llms.txt matter for AI visibility?
AI assistants don't always crawl your full website when answering questions. JavaScript-heavy SPAs are hard for AI crawlers to parse. llms.txt gives them one clean, definitive source of truth — no JavaScript, no UI — that any LLM can read and cite. Sites with valid llms.txt get cited roughly 3x more often.
What goes in a good llms.txt?
Product name + one-sentence description, key capabilities, target users, key features with brief descriptions, pricing tiers, quantifiable stats (users / customers / scans), and contact / website URL. Lead with the strongest one-liner — that's what AI uses as the quick summary.
What's the difference between llms.txt and llms-full.txt?
llms.txt is the executive summary. llms-full.txt is the full product documentation — detailed feature descriptions, technical architecture, all pricing details, integration partners, target segments, company background. AI systems wanting deeper context fetch llms-full.txt; for everything else llms.txt is sufficient.
How often should I update llms.txt?
Update it whenever pricing or features change. Outdated information in llms.txt causes AI to give wrong answers about your product — for instance, citing old pricing that hurts conversion when buyers see the real number. Treat it like a public-facing pricing page: review it monthly minimum.
Can I generate llms.txt automatically?
Yes — AI Exposure Tool's free audit auto-generates a ready-to-deploy llms.txt based on your actual site content. Scan your site, copy the generated file, and place it at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. Most teams ship it in under 5 minutes.