There’s a simple file you can add to your website that almost no South African business has yet – and it could help AI tools understand and recommend you. It’s called llms.txt, and it’s quietly becoming the robots.txt of the AI era.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at the root of your website (yoursite.co.za/llms.txt) that gives AI crawlers a clean, structured summary of your business: what you do, your key pages, and how to contact you. Where robots.txt tells search engines what not to crawl, llms.txt tells AI models what’s important.
Why it matters
- AI tools increasingly read the web to decide what to recommend – and they reward clarity.
- A clean summary reduces the chance AI misunderstands or misrepresents your business.
- It’s an easy, low-cost edge while most competitors don’t even know it exists.
What goes in it?
A good llms.txt is short and human-readable. It typically includes a one-line description of your business, links to your most important pages (services, about, contact), and your key contact details. That’s it – clarity beats length.
Does it guarantee AI will recommend you?
No single file does. llms.txt is one piece of a bigger picture that includes AEO, GEO, strong SEO and consistent business information. But it’s a quick, sensible step that signals you’re serious about being found by AI.
How to add one
You can create a simple llms.txt by hand and upload it to your site’s root, or have your developer or agency set it up. If you’d like, we can create and implement yours as part of a wider AI-visibility plan.
Get a free audit and we’ll check whether your site is ready for AI search – llms.txt included.
Ready to get found by AI, not just Google?
See where your business stands today with a free AI Visibility Audit, or explore our AI Search Visibility (GEO) and SEO services. Prefer to talk? Get in touch and we will map out your next move.