AI is changing how people find businesses online
Not long ago, finding a local bakery or a reliable plumber meant typing something into Google and clicking a link. That still happens millions of times a day. But something else is happening alongside it.
More and more people are asking AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's Gemini their questions directly. Instead of a list of links, they get a written answer. And that answer often pulls information from websites just like yours.
The question is: can these AI tools actually read your website properly? And should you do anything about it?
What does an AI chatbot actually do?
Think of an AI chatbot as a very fast researcher. It has been trained on enormous amounts of text from across the internet, including business websites, blogs, and news articles. When someone asks it a question, it draws on everything it has read to give an answer.
Some AI tools also browse the web in real time, pulling fresh information from websites as people ask questions. Either way, your website content could end up shaping the answers these tools give.
If your website is clear and well-written, an AI tool is more likely to represent your business accurately. If it is confusing or poorly structured, the AI might get things wrong, or ignore you entirely.
So what is llms.txt?
LLM stands for Large Language Model, the technical name for the type of AI behind tools like ChatGPT. An LLM is a sophisticated programme that has learned to understand and generate text by processing vast quantities of written material.
llms.txt is a simple text file you can add to your website. It sits quietly in the background and acts as a plain-English guide for AI tools, telling them what your website is about, which pages matter most, and how to understand your content.
Think of it like leaving a note on the door for a delivery driver. The driver could eventually figure out where to leave the parcel, but a clear note makes everything faster and more accurate.
llms.txt is not an official standard backed by a big organisation like Google. A developer called Jeremy Howard proposed it in September 2024 and it has been gaining traction since. Not every AI tool looks for it yet, but a growing number do.
How is this different from robots.txt?
You may have heard of robots.txt, a file that tells search engines like Google which pages on your site they can and cannot look at. llms.txt serves a different purpose.
robots.txt is about permission. It says "you can look here, but not there."
llms.txt is about clarity. It says "here is what we do, here are our most important pages, and here is how to understand us."
The two files sit happily side by side on your website. They are not in competition.
What does an llms.txt file actually look like?
This is where people often expect something complicated. In reality, it is just a plain text file with a few simple sections.
A basic llms.txt for a bakery in Leeds might look something like this:
# Greenfield's Bakery
> A family-run bakery in Leeds specialising in sourdough, celebration cakes, and gluten-free pastries. We offer local delivery and wedding cake consultations.
## Key Pages
- [About Us](https://www.greenfieldsbakery.co.uk/about)
- [Our Menu](https://www.greenfieldsbakery.co.uk/menu)
- [Wedding Cakes](https://www.greenfieldsbakery.co.uk/wedding-cakes)
- [Order Online](https://www.greenfieldsbakery.co.uk/order)
- [Contact](https://www.greenfieldsbakery.co.uk/contact)
That is genuinely it. A short description of your business and links to your most important pages. Some businesses add more detail, but even something this simple is better than nothing.
Do you actually need one?
Honest answer: right now, it is not essential. Most small businesses in the UK do not have one, and they are not immediately losing customers because of it.
But the way people search for businesses is shifting. AI-powered answers are becoming part of everyday life. Getting ahead of this now, while it is still straightforward, makes more sense than scrambling to catch up later.
A basic llms.txt file takes about twenty minutes to create. It costs nothing. And it puts a clear, accurate description of your business in front of the AI tools that growing numbers of your potential customers are using.
If you are already thinking about your wider online visibility, it is also worth reading our guide on why your website might not be showing up on Google, since many of the same principles apply.
How to create your llms.txt file
Here is a straightforward process, even if you have never done anything like this before.
Step 1: Open a plain text editor
On a Windows PC, use Notepad. On a Mac, use TextEdit (make sure it is set to plain text, not rich text).
Step 2: Write a short description of your business
One or two sentences. What do you do, where are you based, what makes you different?
Step 3: List your most important pages
Your homepage, your services or products page, your contact page, and anything else a potential customer would want to see.
Step 4: Save the file as llms.txt
Exactly that name, all lowercase.
Step 5: Upload it to your website's root folder
This is the main folder where your website lives. If your site is at www.yourbusiness.co.uk, the file should end up at www.yourbusiness.co.uk/llms.txt
How you upload it depends on your website platform.
WordPress
Log into your hosting control panel (often called cPanel) and use the File Manager to upload llms.txt to the public_html folder. Alternatively, ask your web host to do it for you.
Squarespace
Squarespace does not currently allow direct file uploads to the root folder. You may need to speak to a developer or use a workaround via Squarespace's custom code settings. This is one situation where a quick email to your web designer is the easiest path.
Wix
Wix also has limitations here. The simplest approach is to contact Wix support or use a Wix app designed for custom file hosting. Check the Wix app market for "file hosting" options.
Shopify
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store, then Themes, then Actions, and select Edit Code. You can add files here. If this feels daunting, your theme developer or a Shopify expert can do it in minutes.
💡 Once your file is live, check it by typing your website address followed by /llms.txt into a browser. If you can see the text you wrote, it is working. While you are at it, setting up Google Search Console gives you a much clearer picture of how both search engines and AI crawlers are interacting with your site.
What about AI tools that scrape without asking?
Some AI companies send automated programmes called crawlers or bots to read websites without any invitation. You can block specific AI crawlers using your robots.txt file if you would rather they did not use your content.
Common AI crawler names you might see in your server logs include GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), and PerplexityBot. Adding a "Disallow" line to your robots.txt for any of these will stop them reading your site.
⚠️ Blocking AI crawlers means those tools will not include your business in their answers. For most small businesses, being visible is more valuable than blocking access. Think carefully before you block anyone.
The bigger picture
llms.txt is a small thing. But it reflects a genuine shift in how people find information online. Search engines are embedding AI into their results. Standalone AI assistants are fielding questions that used to go to Google. Voice assistants are getting smarter.
The businesses that do well in this environment will be the ones with websites that are clear, accurate, and easy to understand, whether the reader is a human, a search engine spider, or an AI language model.
If you are not sure where your website stands right now, you can run a free check at website.auditmy.co.uk. It gives you a straightforward report on what is working and what might need attention, with no technical knowledge required to understand the results.
Adding an llms.txt file is one small, free step in the right direction. Twenty minutes of your time now could mean your bakery, your shop, or your service business gets mentioned accurately the next time someone asks an AI assistant for a recommendation in your area.
That seems like a reasonable investment.
Top comments (2)
I was intrigued by the introduction of llms.txt as a way to provide clarity to AI tools like ChatGPT, and how it differs from robots.txt in terms of purpose. The example of the bakery's llms.txt file shows how simple and straightforward the format can be, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes. What I'd like to know is how the use of llms.txt might impact search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, as it seems to provide an additional layer of context for AI tools to understand a website's content. Will we see a shift in how businesses approach SEO as AI chatbots become more prevalent?
Thanks for reading and replying,
The short answer is no, there probably isn't a major shift happening right now. Google has already confirmed that an llms.txt file won't affect your search rankings, so it's definitely not an SEO tactic. Even the major AI crawlers like ChatGPT and Claude haven't committed to reading it, meaning you can't rely on it to change how they process your site.
The only real use case right now is for technical or developer-focused sites (like API docs or SaaS platforms), where AI coding assistants need clean text summaries. For most small businesses, it's just a low-priority experiment, not something that should impact your current SEO strategy.