When to use this check
Use it to organise meaningful public documentation. Prioritise the website, navigation and sitemap first. Never publish secrets or private access links in the file.
Know what you are checking.
Llms.txt is a proposed text guide for tools working with language models. It can explain a product and point to useful documentation. It is not a universal access standard or a replacement for useful HTML pages.
A practical example
# Example
> A public-page audit tool.
## Documentation
- [Methodology](https://example.com/methodology): What scores mean and what they do not prove.A common mistake
Llms.txt does not grant crawler permissions. Google says no special AI text file is required for AI Overviews or AI Mode. File presence does not establish eligibility or a ranking benefit.
Understand the result. Make the right change.
When is an llms.txt file useful?
Treat llms.txt as a supplementary guide to useful documentation. Begin with a real workflow, such as helping an assistant locate an integration reference.
- Link an overview and a first-use guide.
- Include limitations and the current reference.
- Identify languages and archived versions clearly.
Which documentation links belong in llms.txt?
Each link should explain which question it answers. A short curated map is more usable than a dump of filters, announcements and duplicate URLs.
- Use “Pricing and limits” rather than “More information”.
- Link directly to the current public destination.
- Describe available features separately from planned ones.
How to keep llms.txt links current
Generate the file from an approved public-content list, or assign a manual owner. Successful generation alone does not establish that each description is accurate.
- Exclude drafts and token-bearing private links.
- Check changed product names and moved pages.
- Verify both HTTP responses and the promised content.
Does llms.txt guarantee AI citations?
Google’s AI Search guidance requires no special AI text file. Demonstrate the value of llms.txt in the particular workflow that uses it.
- Retrieve readable text without signing in.
- Test the intended tool with the maintained references.
- Keep crawler access rules in their appropriate controls.
Primary reference: llmstxt.org ↗
Frequently asked questions
Should I prioritize llms.txt or fixing my website content?
Fix inaccessible or unclear content first. A text map can help tools that choose to use it, but it cannot repair a broken URL or supply an expert answer. Generate it from the same publication registry as your sitemap and exclude private or unpublished documents.
When the task is complete
Every link reaches current public content and the description matches the product. File presence is not a confirmed citation, a crawler permission, or a measured ranking improvement.