llms.txt for an online shop: what to put in it
An llms.txt gives AI assistants a plain map of your shop. What a store's file should list, from products and policies to guides, and how to keep it current.
llms.txt is a markdown file at the root of a site that summarises it for language models: what the site is, and links to its important pages with a line on each. We explained the format in what is llms.txt. For a shop, the question is what belongs in it.
A shop's file
# Brewline
> Cold brew kits and beans for making cold brew at home. Ships in the UK and EU.
## Products
- [Cold Brew Kit](https://example.com/kit): jar, filter and 250g beans, 38 GBP
- [Cold Brew Beans 1kg](https://example.com/beans): medium roast, 24 GBP
## Policies
- [Shipping](https://example.com/shipping): UK 2 days, EU 4 to 6 days
- [Refunds](https://example.com/refunds): 30 days, unopened
## Guides
- [How to make cold brew at home](https://example.com/blog/cold-brew-at-home): the jar methodWhat to include
- One line saying what you sell and where you ship.
- Products with their price and one line each, or categories for a big catalogue.
- Shipping, returns and contact, because assistants get asked about these.
- Your best guides, since they answer the questions buyers ask.
Keep it true
A price in llms.txt that differs from the product page is worse than no file. Generate it from the same data as the pages, at build time, so it cannot drift. This site's llms.txt is written by the same script as its sitemap.
Let the crawlers in
The file is only useful if assistants may fetch it. Check your robots.txt and any bot protection in front of the site; see robots.txt for AI crawlers and getting cited by AI assistants.
SEO Blog Writer keeps an llms.txt listing every post and updates it each week, and it adds a robots.txt block naming ChatGPT's, Claude's, Perplexity's and Gemini's crawlers after you choose about training.
Questions
Should an online shop have an llms.txt?
It costs little and gives AI tools a clean summary of what you sell and where the important pages are. It is not required, and nothing guarantees an assistant will read it.
Should every product be listed?
For a small catalogue, yes, with a line on each. For a large one, list categories and best sellers, and link a fuller file or the sitemap for the rest.
Does llms.txt replace robots.txt?
No. robots.txt controls which crawlers may fetch what. llms.txt is a map for readers that are allowed in. You need robots.txt either way.