What is an llms.txt file and do I need one
llms.txt is a proposed standard — like robots.txt but for large language models — that lets you tell AI crawlers which parts of your site are most important and how to summarize them. It's not yet a hard requirement, but adding one to your domain is a 30-minute task that signals you're serious about AEO and may influence how AI engines build context about your firm.
What llms.txt does
It sits at the root of your domain (yoursite.com/llms.txt) and contains a structured, plain-text summary of:
- Who you are.
- What you do.
- Your most important pages.
- A short, AI-readable description of each one.
AI crawlers can read it instead of (or in addition to) crawling the whole site.
Should advisors add one
Yes — it's low effort, costs nothing, and the standard is being adopted by Anthropic and others. Even if it doesn't move citations directly today, it's a clear signal you're optimizing for AI engines and not just classical SEO.
What to put in it
- A 2-3 sentence firm description.
- Links to your About, Services, and (if you have one) Answers pages.
- A short description of who your firm serves and what makes it different.
What we ship in the on-site build
Quiet Machines includes an llms.txt file as part of every install, alongside the schema markup, sitemap, and answer hub. It's a small thing, but small things add up in AEO.
Quiet Machines installs an AI brain inside advisory firms in a 3-day on-site build. Free AI visibility audit →