What is llms.txt, and does your WordPress site need one?
By Anis Harbaoui, SEO specialist · Updated 16 October 2026
llms.txt is a proposed Markdown file, placed at the root of a website, that gives large language models a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. It was proposed in 2024 by Jeremy Howard as a way to help models read sites at inference time. It is not a standard, and no major search engine has confirmed using it for ranking or citations.
- llms.txt is a curated Markdown index, not an access-control file like robots.txt.
- It is cheap to add, but there is no public evidence it improves AI visibility.
- Crawlability, clear content and entity consistency matter far more.
What goes in an llms.txt file?
# NexalSEO
> NexalSEO is a WordPress SEO plugin that outputs one connected
> schema graph, XML sitemaps, redirects and store audits.
## Product
- [Features](https://nexalseo.com/features/): every module
- [Pricing](https://nexalseo.com/pricing/): Free and Pro plans
## Guides
- [What is schema markup?](https://nexalseo.com/guides/what-is-schema-markup/)
- [Entity SEO](https://nexalseo.com/guides/entity-seo/)The format is an H1 with the site name, a short blockquote summary, then sections of links with one-line descriptions. A companion llms-full.txt sometimes contains full page text.
llms.txt vs robots.txt vs sitemap.xml
| File | Purpose | Read by |
|---|---|---|
| robots.txt | Allows or blocks crawlers | All major crawlers |
| sitemap.xml | Lists URLs for discovery | Search engines |
| llms.txt | Curated summary for language models | Some AI tools and agents; adoption unconfirmed by major engines |
Should you add one?
| Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Documentation-heavy product or developer tool | Worth adding: AI coding tools and agents may use it |
| Content site or blog | Optional; low cost, unproven benefit |
| Site with crawl or indexing problems | Fix those first; llms.txt will not compensate |
How to add llms.txt to WordPress
Write the file
Name, summary and your 10–30 most useful URLs.
Upload it to the site root
So it is served at /llms.txt with a text/plain or text/markdown type.
Keep it current
Update when key pages change; stale links undermine the point.
Further reading: The llms.txt proposal.
How should the file be structured?
The proposal at llmstxt.org describes plain Markdown. It starts with one H1 holding the site or project name. Under it comes a short blockquote that says what the site is. After that you add sections, each with an H2 heading and a list of links, and every link can carry a short note about the page. A section called Optional marks links that can be skipped when a tool is short on space.
# Example Store
> A small shop selling handmade ceramics, with care guides and shipping details.
## Guides
- [Caring for stoneware](https://example.com/care/): washing, heat and storage
## Policies
- [Shipping and returns](https://example.com/shipping/): costs, times and returns
## Optional
- [About us](https://example.com/about/)Which pages belong in it?
List the pages you would send a new visitor who wants the short version of your site: key guides, product or service pages, pricing, contact and policies. Leave out thin pages, tag archives, search results, anything marked noindex and anything behind a login. Use canonical URLs only, so the file never points a tool at a redirected or duplicate address.
How do I check that it works?
Open yoursite.com/llms.txt in a browser. It should load as plain text with a 200 status, without a redirect to the homepage and without your theme wrapped around it. Click each link once to confirm none returns a 404. Review the file whenever you publish or remove an important page, because a stale list does more harm than no list.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google use llms.txt?
Google has not announced any use of llms.txt in Search or AI Overviews.
Is llms.txt the same as blocking AI?
No. To block or allow AI crawlers, use robots.txt.
Will llms.txt get me cited by ChatGPT?
There is no evidence of that. Being indexed, crawlable and clear is what matters.
Related guides
AI Overviews and WordPress
The full AI search checklist.
How Google understands a website
Crawling and indexing basics.
What is semantic SEO?
Clarity for humans and machines.
NexalSEO is a free WordPress SEO plugin with sitemaps and a connected schema graph, worth a look next to this setup.
See all features