# What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a plain-text markdown file at the root of a website that lists the pages its owner wants language models to read first, with a short note on each.

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Limelit's free AI Readiness Score checks whether your site serves an llms.txt file; it does not treat the file as a ranking or citation signal.

## Definition

llms.txt is a plain-text markdown file at the root of a website that lists the pages its owner wants language models to read first, with a short note on each. llms.txt is an unofficial convention proposed at llmstxt.org, not a standard the AI engines have adopted, and publishing one has no demonstrated effect on how often AI answers cite a site. Limelit publishes its own at limelit.co/llms.txt, and its free AI Readiness Score reports whether your site has one.

## More terms

- [AI share of voice](https://limelit.co/glossary/ai-share-of-voice)
- [AI visibility score](https://limelit.co/glossary/ai-visibility-score)
- [AI search monitoring](https://limelit.co/glossary/ai-search-monitoring)
- [AI citation](https://limelit.co/glossary/ai-citation)
- [The full glossary](https://limelit.co/glossary)

Questions

## The things people ask us first.

### Is llms.txt a standard?

No. llms.txt is an unofficial convention proposed at llmstxt.org, not a standard the AI engines have adopted, and publishing one has no demonstrated effect on how often AI answers cite a site.

### Do I need an llms.txt file for AI assistants to find my site?

No. AI crawlers find pages through your robots.txt rules, your sitemap and your links. Check those first; an llms.txt file is optional on top.

### Where does an llms.txt file go?

At the root of the site, as /llms.txt, in markdown: a title, a one-line summary, then sections of links with a short note each.

### Does Limelit publish an llms.txt?

Yes. limelit.co/llms.txt lists Limelit's product pages, metric definitions and articles, and every page it lists is also served as markdown.