Guides · Updated 3 November 2026
llms.txt: what it is and whether your store needs one
llms.txt is a proposal for a short text file on your site that explains to language models what your website contains. It is not an official standard and no AI company has promised to read it. For an online store it is a small extra, not the main thing.
What it is
- Proposed by Jeremy Howard, published on 3 September 2024.
- A Markdown file at
/llms.txt, with a heading with your name, a short summary and lists of links to your most important pages. - The specification is open for community input. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google publish such a file for their developer docs, but that is not the same as promising to read it on other sites.
An example for an online store
# Example Ceramics
> Handmade stoneware tableware from Portugal, sold from Utrecht. Delivery in the Netherlands and Belgium.
## Products
- [Plates](https://www.example-shop.nl/borden): ontbijt- en dinerborden, 22 en 28 cm
- [Bowls](https://www.example-shop.nl/kommen): soep- en saladekommen
## Service
- [Shipping and returns](https://www.example-shop.nl/verzending): levertijd, kosten en 30 dagen retour
- [About us](https://www.example-shop.nl/over-ons)What comes first?
- Product data (JSON-LD) with price, stock, brand and barcode. Read how to check it.
- robots.txt that lets AI assistants' search bots in. Read how that works.
- Only then llms.txt. It takes fifteen minutes and does no harm.
That is why llms.txt does not count towards your score in the Shelv scan; we only show whether you have one.
How does your product page score?
Paste the address of a product page into the free scan. Within seconds you see what AI assistants can and cannot read.