llms.txt File: What It Is and How to Create One for Your Website

What is llms.txt?

The llms.txt file is an emerging web standard that provides AI language models (LLMs) with structured, authoritative information about your website and brand.

Published at `yourdomain.com/llms.txt`, it is the AI equivalent of `robots.txt` — but instead of guiding crawlers on what to index, it guides AI systems on how to understand and represent your brand.

Why llms.txt Matters for AEO

AI engines synthesize information about your brand from many sources across the web. The problem: much of that information may be incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate.

An llms.txt file gives you direct control over how AI engines understand your brand. It is an authoritative signal that AI systems can reference when generating answers about your company, products, and content.

The llms.txt File Format

The llms.txt specification (proposed by Jeremy Howard and the FastAI team) uses Markdown format with specific sections:

# TrueCite

> AEO platform that tracks brand visibility across 9 AI engines and provides content fixes to improve your citation rate.

TrueCite is a B2B SaaS platform for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). It scans buyer-intent prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Copilot, Meta AI, and Google AI Overviews to measure brand MentionShare and identify content gaps.

## Key Features

- MentionShare tracking across 9 AI engines
- Fix Generator for creating AI-optimized FAQ blocks and schema
- Schema Audit for JSON-LD validation
- AI SEO Audit for page-level content scoring
- Competitor tracking and gap analysis

## Pricing

- Free trial available
- Paid plans from $29/month

## Docs

- [Getting Started](/docs/getting-started): Set up your first AEO scan
- [Fix Generator](/docs/fix-generator): Create AI-optimized content
- [Schema Audit](/docs/schema-audit): Validate your JSON-LD schema

## Optional

- [Blog](/blog): AEO guides and best practices
- [FAQ](/faq): Common questions about AEO

The Required Sections

Title (H1)

Your brand or company name. This is the primary identifier AI engines use.

Blockquote Summary

A one-sentence description of what your company/product does. This is the most important field — it is what AI engines will quote when describing you.

Body Text

A 2-4 sentence description of your brand, product, and target audience. Be specific and factual — avoid promotional language.

Optional but Recommended Sections

• ▸Key Features — Bulleted list of your main product capabilities
• ▸Pricing — Your pricing model and starting price
• ▸Docs — Links to your most important documentation pages
• ▸Blog or Resources — Links to your content hub

Creating Your llms.txt File

Step 1: Create a file called `llms.txt` in your website's root directory.

Step 2: Write your file following the format above. Keep the blockquote summary to one crisp sentence. Use factual, specific language throughout.

Step 3: Publish the file at `yourdomain.com/llms.txt`.

Step 4: Verify it is accessible and properly formatted using TrueCite's [LLMs.txt Checker](/dashboard/llms).

Best Practices

• ▸One sentence, maximum impact in the blockquote — This is what AI engines quote. Make it precise.
• ▸No promotional language — AI engines weight factual content over marketing copy.
• ▸Include your product category explicitly — "AEO platform", "project management software", "CRM for B2B sales teams"
• ▸Link to your most authoritative content — Documentation, key feature pages, and your most cited blog posts
• ▸Update it when your product or positioning changes — Stale information leads to inaccurate AI citations

Checking Your llms.txt with TrueCite

TrueCite's LLMs.txt Checker validates that your file is:

• ▸Accessible at the correct URL
• ▸Properly formatted with the required sections
• ▸Contains accurate and complete brand information
• ▸Free of common errors that cause AI engines to misparse it

[Check your llms.txt file with TrueCite →](/dashboard/llms)