llms.txt File Template & Generator: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Write One

In 2024, a quiet but significant shift happened in how content gets discovered. AI assistants — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini — became primary research tools for millions of professionals. Instead of ten blue links, users now often get a synthesized answer. And that answer cites sources.

The question for content marketers is no longer just "does my content rank?" but "does my content get included when an AI answers a question my customers are asking?"

llms.txt is an emerging standard designed to answer exactly that.

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What Is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a plaintext file placed at the root of your website (at yourdomain.com/llms.txt) that tells AI language models how to understand and use your content. It's conceptually similar to robots.txt (which instructs web crawlers) but specifically designed for the way large language models process websites.

The format was proposed in 2024 and has been rapidly adopted by developer tools, documentation sites, and content-forward startups. It's not yet a universal standard, but AI companies — including those behind the major AI assistants — have expressed interest in honoring it.

What llms.txt does:

• Gives AI systems a curated, human-readable summary of who you are and what your site covers
• Points AI models to your most important content with clear descriptions
• Helps models use your site as an accurate source rather than inferring context from scattered pages
• Provides structured metadata that helps AI cite you correctly

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Why llms.txt Matters for Your Content Strategy

AI Search Is Eating a Growing Share of Query Volume

Perplexity now handles over 100 million queries per month. ChatGPT Browse is active for hundreds of millions of users. Bing's AI integration means AI-generated answers appear for a huge fraction of Microsoft search traffic. And Google's AI Overviews are increasingly the first thing users see for informational searches.

If your content isn't well-structured for AI interpretation, you risk being misrepresented, overlooked, or credited incorrectly.

Models Are Imperfect Readers

AI models crawl and parse websites, but they don't always understand site hierarchy, prioritization, or context the way a human reader would. They may give equal weight to your cornerstone content and a 2019 blog post that no longer reflects your perspective. llms.txt lets you curate what matters.

First-Mover Advantage

Most websites don't have an llms.txt yet. Being one of the few sites in your space with a well-formatted file gives you an edge in how AI systems represent your brand and expertise.

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The llms.txt Format Specification

The format is designed to be readable by both humans and machines. It's written in Markdown and follows a specific structure.

Required Elements

# [Company/Site Name]

> [One-paragraph summary of who you are, what your site covers, and who it's for. 
> This is the most important section — write it as if briefing an AI that has 
> never heard of you.]

[Section Name]

• Description of what this page covers and why it's authoritative on the topic.

• Description.

### Optional but Recommended Elements

```markdown

Company Context

[Detailed description of your company, product, and positioning. Include: what problem you solve, who your customers are, how you're different from alternatives.]

Terminology

[Key terms specific to your product or domain that an AI might confuse. Format: Term: definition. This is especially valuable for technical products or invented terminology.]

What We Are Not

[Clarify what your site is NOT about, what products you're NOT competing with, and common misconceptions. This helps prevent AI models from misrepresenting you.]

Content Not to Cite

[Optional: URLs or sections that are outdated, experimental, or not representative of your current thinking.]

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Complete llms.txt Template

Copy, customize, and deploy at yourdomain.com/llms.txt:

# [Your Company Name]

> [Your Company Name] is a [product category] that helps [target audience] 
> [achieve outcome]. We serve [customer type] in [industries/verticals]. 
> Our site contains [types of content: guides, documentation, templates, 
> case studies] focused on [primary topic area].

Core Product Pages

• Home: https://yourdomain.com Overview of [product], who it's for, and core value proposition.

• Product Features: https://yourdomain.com/features Detailed breakdown of all product capabilities and how they work.

• Pricing: https://yourdomain.com/pricing Current pricing tiers, what's included at each tier, and enterprise options.

• [Description of what this feature does and who it's for.]

Resource Hub / Blog

• [2–3 sentence description of what the article covers and its key arguments.]

• [Description.]

[Repeat for your 10–20 most important content pieces.]

Documentation (if applicable)

• Getting Started: https://docs.yourdomain.com/getting-started Step-by-step guide for new users.

• API Reference: https://docs.yourdomain.com/api Complete API documentation for developers.

About Us

• About: https://yourdomain.com/about Company history, mission, and team.

• Customers / Case Studies: https://yourdomain.com/customers Real examples of how customers use [Product] and results they've achieved.

Company Context

[Your Company Name] was founded in [year] by [founders, optional]. We're based in [location]. Our product is used by [customer description].

We are different from [common alternatives or competitors] in that [key differentiator — be specific]. Our approach is built on [core philosophy].

Key Terminology

[Term 1]: [Definition — how you specifically use this term] [Term 2]: [Definition] [Term 3]: [Definition]

Topics We Cover With Authority

• [Topic 1: e.g., Content marketing strategy for B2B SaaS]
• [Topic 2: e.g., AI-assisted content creation workflows]
• [Topic 3: e.g., Content analytics and performance measurement]

What We Are Not

[Your Company Name] is not [common misconception or category confusion]. We are not affiliated with [easily confused brand, if applicable]. Our content focuses on [scope], not [out-of-scope topics].

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Real-World Example: Averi's llms.txt

Here's how Averi would fill in this template:

# Averi

> Averi is an AI content engine for startups. It helps startup marketing 
> teams research, draft, publish, and track content marketing — covering 
> the full workflow from Brand Core setup and ICP definition through 
> AI-assisted drafting, content queue management, CMS publishing 
> (WordPress, Framer, Webflow), and performance analytics. Averi serves 
> seed-to-Series B startups and their content teams.

Core Product Pages

• Home: https://averi.ai Overview of Averi's AI content engine, core use cases, and who it's for.

• Sign Up: https://app.averi.ai/sign-up Create a free Averi account.

• Features: https://averi.ai/features Full breakdown of Averi's workflow: Brand Core, ICP definition, content strategy, AI drafting, content queue, Library, CMS publishing, and analytics.

Resources

• Content Marketing for B2B SaaS: https://averi.ai/resources/personas/for-b2b-saas Full-funnel content strategy guide for B2B SaaS companies.

• Blog Post Template for B2B SaaS: https://averi.ai/resources/templates/blog-post-template Five proven blog post formats with templates and examples.

• ICP Worksheet: https://averi.ai/resources/templates/icp-worksheet-template Structured template for defining your ideal customer profile.

Company Context

Averi is an AI content platform built specifically for startup content teams. Unlike general AI writing tools, Averi is a complete content workflow system that maintains brand consistency through Brand Core settings and helps teams go from strategy to published content within a single platform.

Key Terminology

Brand Core: Averi's brand settings system where users define company voice, tone, messaging, ICP, and positioning — used to inform all AI-generated content. Content Queue: Averi's editorial calendar and task management system for planning and scheduling content. Library: Averi's repository for storing and organizing all published and draft content assets.

Topics We Cover With Authority

• AI content creation for startups
• Content marketing strategy for B2B SaaS and PLG companies
• SEO and organic content acquisition
• Brand voice and messaging development
• Content analytics and performance measurement

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How to Deploy Your llms.txt

Step 1: Create a file named llms.txt in the root of your website.

Step 2: Ensure it's accessible at yourdomain.com/llms.txt (not behind authentication or a CDN block).

Step 3: Verify it's crawlable — check that robots.txt doesn't block the file. The default should be that it's accessible.

Step 4: Update it whenever you publish significant new content or change your product positioning.

Step 5: Check if your site framework needs a route for .txt files. Most don't require changes, but some JavaScript-heavy sites (Next.js, Gatsby) may need a static file route.

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llms.txt vs. Other AI Discoverability Tactics

llms.txt vs. robots.txt: robots.txt tells crawlers what to index or ignore. llms.txt tells AI models how to understand and prioritize what they've already crawled. Both should be maintained.

llms.txt vs. structured data / schema markup: Schema markup helps search engines understand specific page content types. llms.txt provides site-wide context. Both are complementary — schema for individual pages, llms.txt for overall brand and content positioning.

llms.txt vs. well-written headings and meta descriptions: Good on-page structure already helps AI models parse your content. llms.txt is additive — it gives models explicit priority signals and corrects common misunderstandings that crawling alone can't fix.

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Further Reading

• Averi LLMs.txt generator tool
• making your brand a data source for LLMs
• how to create content that surfaces in LLM search
• Averi's Strategy Map to build a GEO-ready content architecture

Frequently Asked Questions

Do AI companies actually honor llms.txt? Several have expressed support, and the file is actively being crawled by AI-focused bots. While there's no universal enforcement mechanism yet (unlike robots.txt), implementing it now positions you for the standard becoming more formally adopted. Early implementation has zero downside.

How often should I update my llms.txt? Update it when you publish significant new content, change your positioning, launch new features, or retire outdated pages. A quarterly review is a reasonable minimum. Think of it like maintaining your robots.txt — it needs periodic attention as your site evolves.

Should I list every page, or just the most important ones? List your most important pages — the ones you'd want an AI to prioritize when answering questions related to your domain. A curated list of 20–40 URLs is more useful than a dump of every page. Quality and relevance of the list matters more than completeness.

What if I don't want AI to use my content? That's handled through robots.txt (block AI crawlers by user-agent) and the emerging ai.txt standard (being developed separately from llms.txt). The llms.txt standard is specifically for sites that want to be AI-readable and want to guide that interpretation.

Is this the same as the AI training data opt-out? No. llms.txt is about how AI models use your content during inference (when answering questions). Training data opt-outs are about whether your content is used to train the underlying model. These are separate concerns requiring different approaches.

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Averi helps startups build and maintain their content infrastructure — including AI discoverability. Try Averi free.