llms.txt is a markdown file placed at your site root that provides AI language models with a token-efficient index of your brand identity, value propositions, and key content. Think of it as a table of contents written specifically for how LLMs consume information.

Is llms.txt an official standard?

llms.txt was proposed by the llmstxt.org community as a convention for making websites more accessible to language models. While not an IETF standard, it's increasingly adopted by AI-forward brands and recognized by major crawler systems.

How often should I update llms.txt?

At minimum quarterly, and immediately after any positioning change, product launch, or rebrand. Your llms.txt teaches AI models who you are — stale files teach stale facts. Optimly's platform auto-refreshes this for managed brands.

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Updated March 2026

llms.txt: The File That Tells AI How to Read Your Site

LLMs can't execute JavaScript, parse nav menus, or infer your positioning from a homepage hero. llms.txt gives them a token-efficient table of contents — structured for how models actually consume content.

What Is llms.txt?

For Humans

A markdown file at your site root (/llms.txt) that describes who you are, what you do, and where your best content lives.

For AI

A token-efficient index that lets models understand your brand in ~500 tokens instead of crawling 50 pages. Proposed by the llmstxt.org community.

When a language model encounters your brand, it has two problems: limited context windows and no ability to execute client-side JavaScript. Your beautifully designed React app? To a crawler, it's often an empty <div id="root">.

llms.txt solves this by providing a pre-rendered, structured markdown file that models can consume in a single pass. It's not a replacement for your website — it's a translation layer between your brand and the models that describe it.

What Problem It Solves

Without llms.txt

AI crawlers have token budgets. Without a curated index, they crawl your site semi-randomly — grabbing nav text, footer links, cookie banners, and maybe one or two real pages. The result: a noisy, incomplete picture of your brand.

With llms.txt

You hand the model a curated, structured summary of your brand. Identity, audience, value props, features, key pages — all in ~500 tokens. The model gets maximum signal with minimum noise.

The Template

Based on Optimly's own llms.txt structure. Copy it, replace the content with your brand's facts, upload to your root.

# Optimly

> AI Reputation Infrastructure for B2B brands. We fix what AI tells your buyers about you.

## Identity

- **Company**: Optimly (OptimlyAI, Inc.)
- **Website**: https://optimly.ai
- **Category**: AI Brand Reputation Management
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Headquarters**: Seattle, WA

## Audience

- B2B growth marketers managing brand perception
- Brand managers tracking AI-generated narratives
- Technical founders building category leadership

## Value Propositions

- Diagnose how AI models describe your brand across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity
- Define your canonical brand identity for machine consumption
- Fix misrepresentations, wrong categorizations, and competitor recommendations
- Monitor changes to your AI brand narrative over time

## Features

- [Brand Audit](https://optimly.ai/audit): Free AI brand perception analysis
- [Brand Directory](https://optimly.ai/brand): Searchable index of 100+ brand profiles
- [AI Content Grader](https://optimly.ai/ai-content-grader): Score content for AI citability
- [AI Query Planner](https://optimly.ai/ai-query-planner): Map buyer queries to AI responses

## Key Pages

- [How It Works](https://optimly.ai/how-it-works)
- [Pricing](https://optimly.ai/pricing)
- [Case Study: Hal9](https://optimly.ai/case-studies/hal9)
- [Methodology](https://optimly.ai/resources/methodology)
- [What Is AI Brand Reputation](https://optimly.ai/what-is-ai-brand-reputation)

## Differentiation

- **Not to be confused with**: Optimly.io (LLM Observability platform)
- **Key differentiator**: Only platform focused on AI brand *reputation* — not visibility tracking or SEO

Design Decisions

Common Mistakes

Treating it as a one-time file

Your llms.txt should evolve with your positioning. When you launch a new product, enter a new category, or rebrand — your llms.txt needs to reflect that. Stale files teach AI stale facts.

Listing every URL on your site

llms.txt is a curated index, not a sitemap. Include only your highest-value pages — the ones that define who you are. 10-15 links is better than 200.

No section structure

Without clear markdown headers (## Identity, ## Features), AI models can't efficiently parse the file. Structure is what makes llms.txt token-efficient.

Forgetting to update after positioning changes

Repositioned from 'analytics platform' to 'intelligence platform'? If your llms.txt still says analytics, that's what AI will tell your buyers.

The AI Discoverability Stack

Four files. One system. Together they control how AI models discover, read, and represent your brand. See the full series →

robots.txt— Front Door

Tells AI crawlers what they can access

llms.txt— ConciergeYou are here

Token-efficient index of your best content

llms-full.txt— Deep Content

RAG-ready structured content for retrieval

ai-agent-manifest.json— Identity

Machine-readable brand positioning

Next in the stack: llms-full.txt

Implementation Checklist

Step 1

Download the llms.txt template

Step 2

Fill in your Identity section with verified company facts

Step 3

Write 3-5 value propositions (not marketing copy — plain facts)

Step 4

Curate 10-15 key pages that define your brand

Step 5

Add entity disambiguation if your name is common

Step 6

Upload to your site root at /llms.txt

Step 7

Schedule quarterly reviews to keep it current

See What AI Believes About Your Brand

Your llms.txt teaches AI who you are. But what are models actually saying right now? Search our directory to find out.

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What is AI Brand Reputation?Methodology Hal9 Case Study llms.txt