Technical / on-page
llms.txt
llms.txt is a proposed plain-text file, placed at a site's root, that maps key pages and summarizes what they cover for large language models. It is an emerging standard intended to help AI systems find and understand a site's most important, citable content.
Why it matters for AEO
An llms.txt file is a low-effort signal of what your site offers to cite, and publishing one is an on-brand demonstration for any site teaching AEO. It complements, rather than replaces, crawlable content and a clear robots.txt policy for the AI crawlers you want to be cited by. Because the standard is still emerging, treat llms.txt as a useful supplement to — never a substitute for — clean, crawlable HTML.
Related terms
Newsletter
Get the AEO field notes
Occasional, editorial updates on AI search — what changed, newly verified stats, and citation-tracking notes. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.