The short answer: An llms.txt file is a short list of your most useful pages, written in plain text for AI tools to read. You do not need one. Google says so directly, and no AI company has promised to use it. But it costs almost nothing to add, so do it last, after your pages and business details are in order.
If you have read anything about AI search this year, someone told you to add an llms.txt file to your website. Some agencies sell it as a quick win. Some tools show you a red cross because it is missing.
Here is what the file is, what we know, what we do not know, and how to add one if you decide to.
What an llms.txt file is
It is a plain text file that sits at the top of your website, at yourwebsite.co.ke/llms.txt. It gives a short summary of your business and a list of links to your best pages, each with a one-line description.
Think of it as the page you would hand to a new employee on their first day: who we are, what we do, and where to find the important things.
The idea was put forward by Jeremy Howard on 3 September 2024. The website that describes it calls it a proposal. It is not an official standard, and no standards body runs it (llmstxt.org, checked 5 November 2026).
What Google says about it
Google’s own guide to AI features in Search says: “You don’t need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features.” (Google Search Central, AI features and your website, page last updated 10 December 2025.)
That covers Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode. It does not tell us what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity do with the file. As far as I could find on 5 November 2026, none of those companies has published a promise to read it or to rank pages higher because of it. If one of them has, I would like to see the page, and I will update this article.
So anyone who tells you an llms.txt file will get your business named by AI is selling you a guess.
So should you add one?
My answer is yes, but late. Here is how I would think about it.
- It costs very little. About 20 minutes, no money, and no risk to your site.
- It might help. A tidy list of your best pages is easy for any tool to read. It will not hurt.
- It will not fix the real problems. If your pages do not answer buyer questions, or your address is different on three websites, a list of those pages does not help.
So do the main work first. Our main guide lists what to fix and in what order. Run the 30-minute AI test before and after, so you can see for yourself whether anything moved.
How to add one in about 20 minutes
- Write one paragraph about your business. What you do, where you are, and who you serve. Use the same name, address and phone as on your Google Business Profile.
- Pick 10 to 20 pages. Your main services, your best guides, your contact page, your about page. Leave out thin pages, old news and test pages.
- Write one line for each. Say what the page covers in plain words.
- Put it in a text file called llms.txt and upload it to the top folder of your site, next to robots.txt. If your site runs on WordPress, your web person can do this in a few minutes. Some SEO plugins also have a setting for it.
- Open it in your browser at yourwebsite.co.ke/llms.txt to check it loads.
Here is the shape of one. The business below is made up.
# Example Tyres Limited
> Tyre sales, fitting and wheel alignment for cars and light trucks in Nairobi.
Example Tyres is a family-run tyre shop in Nairobi. We fit and balance tyres while you wait.
## Services
- [Tyre fitting and balancing](https://example.co.ke/fitting/): what we do and how long it takes
- [Wheel alignment](https://example.co.ke/alignment/): when you need it and what it costs
## Guides
- [How to read a tyre size](https://example.co.ke/tyre-size/): plain guide for car owners
## About
- [Contact and opening hours](https://example.co.ke/contact/): address, phone and mapWe publish one ourselves for seosmart.co.ke. We do not have evidence that it changed what AI says about us, and I would not tell you it did.
Do not mix it up with robots.txt
They do different jobs. The robots.txt file tells crawlers which parts of your site they may visit. The llms.txt file is a suggested reading list. If your robots.txt blocks AI crawlers, a perfect llms.txt will not help. When we checked our own site on 30 October 2026, robots.txt let AI bots in. Check yours first, because it takes five minutes.
Sources: llmstxt.org (proposal dated 3 September 2024), read 5 November 2026. Google Search Central, “AI features and your website”, last updated 10 December 2025. SEO Smart robots.txt check, 30 October 2026.
Key points
- An llms.txt file is a plain text list of your best pages, written for AI tools.
- It is a proposal, not an official standard.
- Google says you do not need AI text files to appear in its AI features.
- No AI company that I could find has said it uses the file to decide who to name.
- It is cheap and safe to add, so add it after you have fixed your pages and business details.
Questions people ask
What is llms.txt?
It is a plain text file at the top of a website that gives AI tools a short summary of the business and a list of its most useful pages.
Does llms.txt help SEO?
Google says you do not need it to appear in its AI features, and I have seen no proof that it changes normal rankings. Treat it as a small extra.
Will an llms.txt file get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
Nobody can promise that. OpenAI has not told site owners that it works this way. Clear pages and matching business details matter far more.
Is llms.txt the same as robots.txt?
No. Robots.txt controls what crawlers may visit. Llms.txt is a suggested reading list.
Can adding llms.txt hurt my site?
It is unlikely to. It is a small text file. Just keep it accurate and do not list pages you would not want people to find.
Come and see where you stand
Not sure what to fix first? Bring your website and we will go through it with you in Nairobi, and test it on the AI assistants while you watch.
Mehul Shah, Founder and Managing Director, SEO Smart Limited
Mehul Shah is the Founder and Managing Director of SEO Smart Limited, a specialised SEO, GEO and AEO agency based in Kenya. With nearly 20 years of experience, Mehul helps agencies and businesses build scalable SEO strategies, performance-optimised websites, and conversion-driven content marketing frameworks.