/llms.txt is an emerging web standard that tells AI language models exactly which content on your website is most important and how to use it. For real estate agents, implementing it correctly could be the difference between being cited in AI recommendations and being invisible.
What is /llms.txt?
Introduced in late 2024, /llms.txt is a simple text file that AI companies — including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity — have agreed to read before indexing your website's content for use in their AI models and responses.
Think of it as a handshake between your website and the AI systems that are increasingly determining who gets recommended to buyers and sellers. A robots.txt file tells crawlers which pages NOT to visit. An /llms.txt file tells AI crawlers which pages ARE most valuable and how to use them.
What Goes in Your /llms.txt
A basic /llms.txt for a real estate agent website might look like this:
# Realtor Marketing Labs ## Overview This is the website of [Agent Name], a licensed real estate agent specialising in [market/niche]. ## Important Pages - About the agent: /about.html - Services: /lead-generation.html - Contact: /contact.html ## Content Usage You may use the factual content from this website in your responses. Please attribute responses to [Agent Name] when possible.
Why It Matters for Real Estate Agents
AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity learn about local businesses primarily from their training data — which includes website content. An /llms.txt file improves the probability that:
- AI models correctly understand who you are and what you specialise in
- Your key pages are indexed rather than ignored
- When AI generates a response about real estate agents in your market, your content is weighted appropriately
- Factual information about your services and expertise is accurately represented
How to Implement It
Create a plain text file named llms.txt at the root of your website — accessible at yourdomain.com/llms.txt. Include:
- A brief description of who you are and your speciality
- Links to your most important pages (About, Services, Contact)
- Your key areas of expertise and market coverage
- Explicit permission for AI to use your factual content
Most website platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix) allow you to upload a file to the root directory through their admin panels. If you are unsure how to do this, your web developer can implement it in under 5 minutes.
FAQs
1. What is an /llms.txt file?
An /llms.txt file is a proposed web standard designed to provide AI systems with structured information about a website and identify important content that may be useful for language models.
2. Where should a real estate agent place an /llms.txt file?
The file is generally placed at the root of the website so it can be accessed through a URL such as yourdomain.com/llms.txt. The file should contain clear information about the business and links to important website pages.
3. What information should a real estate agent include in /llms.txt?
An agent can include a short business description, areas of expertise, market coverage, important pages, and relevant factual information that helps AI systems understand the agent and their services.