What is llms.txt? The File That Gets You Cited by AI
If you want ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI tools to cite your website, you need an llms.txt file.
It's simple, free, and takes 5 minutes to set up.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a plain text file at the root of your website that tells AI crawlers:
- What your business does
- Which pages are most important
- What you're an authority on
- How to contact you
Think of it as a "cheat sheet for AI", a quick guide so AI understands you fast.
Why It Matters
AI crawlers scrape billions of pages. They need to decide quickly what's important.
With llms.txt: AI knows what you do immediately, your key pages get prioritized, higher chance of being cited in answers.
Without it: AI guesses based on limited signals, may miss your best content, lower citation rate.
How to Create llms.txt
Basic Format
Create a file at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt:
# SottoVox - AI Visibility Platform
# https://sottovox.com
## About
SottoVox helps businesses get visible to AI crawlers.
We provide scanning, SDK, and fixes for AI visibility.
## Key Pages
/ - Homepage
/pricing - Pricing plans
/blog - AI visibility insights
/contact - Get in touch
## Authority
We're cited by industry leaders for AI visibility expertise.
Founded 2025. Trusted by 1000+ businesses.
## Contact
support@sottovox.comThat's it! Plain text, clear sections.
What to Include
| Section | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Header | Name + URL |
| About | What you do in 1-2 sentences |
| Key Pages | Most important URLs |
| Authority | Why you're trustworthy |
| Contact | How to reach you |
Tips: Keep it under 500 words, use # for headings, list URLs clearly, update quarterly.
How AI Uses It
When ChatGPT or Perplexity's crawler hits your site:
- Looks for
llms.txtorllms.html - Reads your summary
- Prioritizes the pages you listed
- Understands your expertise faster
Result: Better indexing → more citations → more traffic.
Test Your llms.txt
- Visit
https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt, should load plain text - Use SottoVox scanner to verify AI can read it
- Check if AI cites your key pages
Automate It
If you're using SottoVox SDK, we auto-generatellms.txt for you. No manual work. just install the SDK and we handle the rest.
TL;DR
Create a plain text file at https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt that describes your business, lists key pages, states your authority, and provides contact info. Keep it under 500 words. Update quarterly. Test with SottoVox scanner.