llms.txt: should you really care?

For a while now, one file has been making the rounds in SEO/GEO circles: `llms.txt`. Its promise: help AI better understand your site, the way robots.txt does for search engines. Should you bother, or is it a fad? An honest verdict.

What is llms.txt?

It's a Markdown file placed at your domain root (/llms.txt). The idea: offer models a curated map of your site — your important pages, a short description, links — so they find the essentials without getting lost in the noise. Inspired in spirit by robots.txt and sitemap.xml, but aimed at LLMs.

# Ma Boutique

> Boutique de cosmétiques naturels, spécialisée peaux sensibles.

## Produits
- [Sérums](https://example.com/serums): vitamine C, acide hyaluronique
- [Crèmes solaires](https://example.com/spf): SPF 30 à 50, sans parfum

## Ressources
- [Guide peau sensible](https://example.com/guide): comment choisir
- [FAQ](https://example.com/faq): ingrédients, livraison, retours

The format is deliberately simple: headings, short descriptions, links. Readable by a human and a machine alike.

What it claims to solve

Web pages are full of menus, scripts and noise. llms.txt wants to give models a shortcut to what matters, in clean text, without having to reconstruct your structure. On paper, it's appealing.

The real state of adoption

Let's be factual: to date, the major answer engines haven't confirmed that they systematically read and use llms.txt. Support is, at best, uncertain and uneven. So adding the file triggers no guaranteed citation boost. It's a good idea in the making, not an established lever.

Should you add it? The honest verdict

• For: it's free, fast, risk-free, and it prepares you if the standard takes hold.
• Against: no guaranteed effect today, and it's no substitute for structured data.

The priority stays elsewhere: clean schema.org/Product, decisive attributes, a consistent feed. Those, engines read already. llms.txt is a low-effort bonus with uncertain payoff — do it after the essentials, not instead of them.

llms.txt won't get you cited. Your structured data will.

If you add it, do it right

1. At the root: https://your-domain.com/llms.txt.
2. List your key pages with a short, honest description.
3. Keep it up to date: an outdated or contradictory file is worse than none.
4. Stay consistent with the rest of your site (no promises your pages don't keep).