llms.txt vs robots.txt — Key Differences

llms.txt and robots.txt serve different purposes. robots.txt provides authoritative crawl directives to bots, while llms.txt offers human‑readable context for AI crawlers to understand site structure and priorities. This guide compares both and shows how to use them together effectively.

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The purpose of each file

• robots.txt: A web standard that instructs bots about what they can and cannot crawl. Many compliant crawlers follow it.
• llms.txt: An emerging convention for AI crawlers that describes your content, structure, and helpful context in plain text.

Where they live and how they’re read

• robots.txt → https://example.com/robots.txt
• llms.txt → https://example.com/llms.txt
• robots.txt is parsed for directives (Allow/Disallow, Sitemap)
• llms.txt is read for meaning, priorities, and site overview

What each file contains

robots.txt example

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /admin
Disallow: /private
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

llms.txt example

# Example Inc.
> SaaS platform for creative teams to plan and launch content.

## Contact
- Email: team@example.com
- Website: https://example.com

## Pages
### Product
URL: https://example.com/product
Overview of features and pricing.

### Docs
URL: https://example.com/docs
Technical documentation and API guides.

## Crawling Rules
Disallow: /admin
Disallow: /internal

What they can enforce

• robots.txt: Enforceable for compliant crawlers; non‑compliant bots might ignore it.
• llms.txt: Advisory; helps AI crawlers interpret and prioritize content.

When to use each (and together)

• Use robots.txt to define allowed/disallowed paths and to list sitemaps.
• Use llms.txt to explain your site’s purpose, primary sections, and what’s most useful for AI models to read.
• Publish both for the best mix of enforcement and clarity.

SEO and AI implications

• Traditional SEO relies on robots.txt, sitemaps, canonicals, and meta robots.
• AI SEO benefits from explicit, structured clarity and summaries in llms.txt.
• Use llms.txt to help AI understand context; keep robots.txt for bounds.

Practical workflow

1. Generate llms.txt → /#generator
2. Align robots.txt with Disallow items and add your sitemap
3. Ensure internal links and metadata are consistent
4. Review logs and search tools for compliance
5. Revisit monthly as content changes