Updated
llms.txt
2 min read
Short answer
llms.txt is a proposed plain text file, placed at the root of a website, that gives AI tools a short, readable summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. It is a suggestion for language models written in Markdown, and no search engine requires it.
Why might llms.txt matter for a clinic?
AI tools that browse the web for a user have to make sense of a site quickly, and clinic sites are often heavy on images, sliders and booking widgets. A short text file that says who you are, what you offer and where to book gives them a cleaner place to start.
For a med spa with a few locations, the file can list each location page and the main treatment pages, so a tool does not have to guess which page answers which question. Think of it as the note you leave for the house sitter, minus the bit about the cat.
What does an llms.txt file look like?
The format is simple Markdown: a title, a one-line summary, then short sections of links with a few words about each. The file sits at yoursite.com/llms.txt, next to robots.txt.
Example
- # Example Dental Studio
- > Family and implant dentistry in Springfield. New patients welcome.
- ## Services
- - [Dental implants](https://example.com/implants): consults, placement and aftercare
- - [Hygiene and check-ups](https://example.com/hygiene): cleanings and exams
- ## Booking
- - [Book an appointment](https://example.com/book)
Museums hand out a one-page map at the door. The whole building is still there to explore, and the map simply tells you where the famous painting hangs.
How is llms.txt different from robots.txt?
robots.txt tells crawlers which parts of a site they may fetch, and well-behaved crawlers follow it. llms.txt sets no rules at all; it only offers a reading list.
It also differs from a sitemap. A sitemap lists every page for search engines, while llms.txt picks the handful of pages that best explain the business.
The honest catch: support is patchy and mostly undocumented. Some AI tools may read the file, many probably ignore it, and none has promised anything in return for having one. It takes under an hour to write, which is roughly the right amount of effort to spend on it.
Frequently asked questions
Is llms.txt worth it for a clinic?
It is cheap to add and unlikely to hurt, so it is worth an hour once the rest of your site is in good shape. Thin pages and inconsistent facts matter far more, and the file fixes neither.
Does llms.txt replace schema markup?
No. Schema markup labels facts inside your pages in a format search engines document and use. llms.txt is a separate, optional summary file, so do schema first.