## [Understanding llms.txt: The new standard for AI-friendly website optimization](https://parallel.ai/articles/llms-txt)

AI systems now consume web content as frequently as humans do, but they process information fundamentally differently— they work with tokens and context windows rather than visual layouts and navigation menus. The llms.txt file is a plain text markdown document placed at your website's root that provides large language models with a structured map of your most important content, helping them locate and understand your key resources without wading through HTML complexity. This guide explains what llms.txt is, how it works, why it differs from robots.txt and sitemaps, and how to implement it effectively— plus what the standard means for AI agents accessing web data at scale.