AI Is Already Recommending Businesses to Your Customers… Are You One of Them?

To most people, a plain text file full of structured information doesn’t exactly scream exciting. But right now, this little page might just be one of the most important things you can add to your website and barely anyone is doing it yet.

So let’s talk about llms.txt. What it is, why it matters for your business, and why you’ll want one sooner rather than later.

What Is llms.txt?

You’ve probably heard of robots.txt, the file that tells search engine bots what they can and can’t crawl on your website. Well, llms.txt is similar in principle, but built for a completely different audience: AI.

An llms.txt file sits at the root of your website (so it lives at yourdomain.co.uk/llms.txt, you can see mine at https://brightwebsitedesign.co.uk/llms.txt) and contains a clearly structured, plain-English summary of everything important about your business. Your services, your pricing, your values, your process, your team, your clients – all written in a format that AI tools can read, understand and use accurately.

Think of it as a cheat sheet for AI. Instead of a language model guessing what your business does by crawling your website and piecing bits together, you’re handing it the full picture on a plate.

Why Does This Matter for Your Business?

More and more people are using AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, the list goes on. And not just to have a chat, but to make decisions. They are asking things like “who is the best website designer in Cheshire?” or “I need a financial adviser in Macclesfield” or “recommend a bespoke furniture maker in Cheshire.”

And when AI answers those questions, it pulls from what it knows about the businesses it can find and understand.

If your website is difficult for AI to interpret, if your key information is buried in images, scattered across pages or sitting behind JavaScript then you are at a disadvantage. The businesses that are clear, structured and easy for AI to read are the ones that get referenced, recommended and surfaced in AI-generated answers.

This is the emerging discipline of GEO, Generative Engine Optimisation. Where traditional SEO is about ranking in Google, GEO is about showing up in AI-generated responses. And llms.txt is one of the foundations of getting that right.

What Goes Into an llms.txt File?

A well-written llms.txt file tells AI everything it needs to know about your business clearly and accurately. For my own site, that includes:

The more complete and accurate your llms.txt, the better AI can represent you, and the less chance there is of it making something up, misrepresenting your services or pointing someone to a competitor instead.

Will I Be Able To Add An llms.txt File?

Yes, the file lives in your website’s root directory and needs to be uploaded correctly – I can help with that. And the content itself is just well-structured information about your business, written in plain English. If you know what you do and why you are good at it, you have already got everything you need.

The technical bit is the easy part. Getting the content right – making sure it’s comprehensive, accurate and genuinely useful to AI is where the real value is.

Do I Need An llms.txt File On My Website?

If you have a business website and you care about how your business appears online then yes, absolutely.
We are at the beginning of a significant shift in how people discover and choose businesses. Search engines are already blending AI into their results pages. Standalone AI tools are being used more often as a first port of call. The businesses that make themselves AI-readable now will have a real head start over those who catch up later.

Adding an llms.txt file won’t replace your SEO strategy, your social media or your Google Business Profile. But it sits alongside all of those things and gives AI tools the clearest possible picture of who you are and why someone should choose you…. And right now, very few small businesses have one. Which means there is a real opportunity for those who do.

Need A Hand Getting Your llms.txt Set Up?

I’ve added an llms.txt file to my own website (you can see it at brightwebsitedesign.co.uk/llms.txt) and I’m already helping clients get theirs sorted too.

If you’d like one for your website, or you are not sure where to start, I’d love to help. You can drop me an email at bec@brightwebsitedesign.co.uk or fill in the contact form at brightwebsitedesign.co.uk/website-design-wilmslow-cheshire and we can have a chat about what makes sense for your business.

It’s a small thing that could make a big difference. And it’s one of those jobs that’s always better done sooner than later.