Algorithm, Search & Distribution
llms.txt
Also called: LLM txt file
The idea behind llms.txt, proposed in 2024, is a plain markdown file at the root of a domain listing the pages an AI system should read, with a line on what each one covers. Sitemaps do that job for search crawlers and robots.txt sets the rules; this file is meant to be a curated reading list.
Adoption is the catch. Google has said it does not use the file for Search or its AI features, and no major engine treats it as an input, though some assistants and coding tools will fetch one if it exists. Publishing it costs an afternoon and changes nothing about whether your pages are crawlable, which is the part that decides whether they get cited.