Before you create your first LLMS.txt file, here's the million-dollar question: what do companies that take AI visibility seriously actually put in theirs?
When we first published this post in June 2025, we analyzed 3 files: Yoast, Anthropic, and Shopify. Fourteen months later, only Yoast's is still where we found it. Anthropic's moved to a new domain, and Shopify retired the file we studied and now publishes a different one somewhere else.
That churn turned out to be the biggest lesson in the whole series. So let's look at what survived, what moved, and what each one teaches you about your own file.
The comprehensive catalog: Yoast's strategy
Yoast's LLMS.txt file is a masterclass in thorough documentation, and it's still live and actively maintained. They've built what I call the “everything strategy”: organized sections for products, courses, documentation, and legal information.
What they do brilliantly:
Product portfolio as AI sales tool. Yoast lists every product with a plain description of what it does for you: “Yoast SEO for WordPress: Core SEO plugin for WordPress with on-page analysis, readability checks, schema markup, and more.” The lineup stays current too. Their newer Yoast SEO AI+ package is already in the file.
Educational authority. Free and paid courses sit right in the file. That positions them as educators, and it gives an AI system more ways to bring them up in an answer.
The genius discount strategy. Yoast includes a discount code, LLMTXT15, that appears only in this file, “unique to this listing to help us measure interest.” They're tracking whether AI tools actually send them customers. Fourteen months in, the code is still there, which tells you the experiment is cheap enough to keep running.
Hidden sections you probably missed:
- Integration partnerships (they name specific tools like Elementor and Jetpack)
- Community elements (podcasts, webinars, events)
- Developer resources kept separate from user guides
The takeaway: Yoast treats their LLMS.txt file like a complete business directory. When an AI system reads it, it has everything needed to make a full case for them.
The developer focus: Anthropic's file (which moved)
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, takes the opposite approach: a lean file focused entirely on API documentation for developers.
But here's the plot twist. When we first wrote this post, the file lived at docs.anthropic.com/llms.txt. Anthropic has since migrated its entire docs site, and that URL now redirects to platform.claude.com/llms.txt. The old address still works only because they set up a redirect.
What they still do right:
Extreme focus. No pricing, no marketing copy, no company history. Docs, organized by what a developer needs next.
Technical depth. Their companion llms-full.txt inlines the full documentation, so an AI coding assistant can pull everything in one request. This is the use case where llms.txt genuinely works today: developer tools like Cursor read these files to answer questions about a product's API.
Two lessons here. First, the minimalist approach works when you have one specific audience. Second, if your content ever changes domains, your llms.txt moves with it, and every external link to the old address breaks unless you redirect. Anthropic handled the redirect properly. Plenty of companies wouldn't have.
The one that moved to the front door: Shopify
In June 2025, shopify.dev/llms.txt was the most sophisticated file we'd analyzed: an ecosystem map that walked AI systems from “build apps that extend the functionality of Shopify stores” all the way through GraphQL code examples and deployment.
Today that URL returns a 404, and a year of blog posts and tutorials (including, until this update, ours) points at the empty spot, because nobody set up a redirect.
The file itself went mainstream instead of away. Shopify now publishes shopify.com/llms.txt on its main domain, and it reads completely differently: a business index aimed at merchants (start a store, pick a theme, checkout, shipping) instead of developer docs. In spring 2026 Shopify also switched llms.txt on across the platform, so every Shopify store serves a generated file automatically.
Two lessons. First, when Shopify rethought this file, they moved it to the root of their main domain, which is where we've told you to put yours all along. Second, put a quarterly reminder on your calendar: open yourdomain.com/llms.txt and confirm it loads and still describes your business. Shopify could afford to strand a year of inbound links. You'd rather not.
The one your website runs on: WordPress.org
Since our original third example left the stage, here's a better one for most of our readers anyway: WordPress.org's llms.txt, covering the software behind 43% of the web.
It's the cleanest real-world implementation of the actual spec you'll find:
- An H1 with the name, then a one-paragraph summary in a blockquote
- Grouped link lists: about, software, plugins and themes, documentation, community
- Every link has a short description of what an AI will find there
- The whole thing runs about 76 lines
No code samples, no discount experiments, just a tight map of a huge property. If Yoast is the catalog and Anthropic is the specialist, WordPress.org is the directory: the model to imitate when you want maximum clarity with minimum upkeep.
The secret sections most businesses miss
After looking at dozens of these files, here's what separates good from great:
1. The measurement strategy. Yoast's unique discount code lets them measure AI-driven conversions. Do your own version: create unique UTM parameters, a dedicated discount code, or a contact method that appears only in your LLMS.txt file. It's the only way you'll ever know whether the file did anything.
2. The integration map. Yoast names the tools they work with: Elementor, Jetpack, SEMrush. That gives AI systems context for when to mention them. List every tool, platform, or service your business connects with.
3. Structure from simple to complex. Shopify's original developer file opened with plain-English concepts and worked down into API details, and their new merchant file starts at “create an online store” before anything technical. Order your file the same way: what you do first, proof and specifics after.
4. The community layer. Podcasts, webinars, events, user groups. Yoast includes all of them, which frames the company as more than a product.
The three strategy archetypes
Winning LLMS.txt files fall into 3 categories:
The catalog (Yoast model): a complete business directory with products, education, community, and partnerships. Best for businesses with multiple offerings.
The specialist (Anthropic model): one audience, deep detail. Best for API-first companies or highly technical products.
The directory (WordPress.org model): a tight, link-first map of a large property. Best when you have lots of content and want the file cheap to maintain.
Your action plan: which strategy fits your business?
If you're a service business, use the catalog approach. Include your services, case studies, team information, and client testimonials.
If you're a SaaS product, lean specialist. Focus on documentation, integration guides, and implementation details.
If you're content-heavy (a big blog, a course library, a resource hub), go directory. Curate your best links with one-line descriptions and keep it short.
The advanced tactics you can implement today
Create AI-specific tracking. Add unique discount codes, UTM parameters, or contact methods that appear only in your LLMS.txt file.
Map your integrations. List every tool and platform that connects with yours.
Show, don't describe. Sample outputs, snippets, and concrete examples beat feature lists.
Think in workflows. Structure content around what a customer is trying to get done.
Check it quarterly. The Shopify lesson. A stale or dead file undoes the work.
Your LLMS.txt questions answered
Do I need to be this comprehensive?
Depends on your situation. Yoast's everything strategy works because they're an established authority with a big catalog. If you're smaller or more focused, the WordPress.org directory style gets you 90% of the benefit for a fraction of the upkeep. Start with your core offer and expand from there.
How do I know which sections to prioritize?
Lead with the decisions your customers actually make. For most service businesses that's 4 things, in order: what you do and for whom, your services with plain descriptions, proof (case studies, testimonials), and how to reach you. Everything else is optional.
Should I copy these examples exactly?
No. These companies have different business models, audiences, and goals than you do. Understand the principles behind their choices and adapt them.
What happened to Shopify's file? Should that worry me?
The developer-docs file we originally analyzed at shopify.dev is gone, with no redirect, so old links to it hit a 404. Shopify's llms.txt now lives on their main domain at shopify.com/llms.txt as a merchant-facing index, and every Shopify store gets a generated file automatically. Nothing about that should scare you off. It should convince you to check yours quarterly and to redirect the old URL any time you move a file.
What if my business is much smaller than these examples?
That's an advantage. Yoast needs sections for events, podcasts, and a product catalog. You can describe your entire business in 40 lines that stay accurate all year, and offer something they can't: direct access to the founder.
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Ready to build yours? The step-by-step guide walks you through creating and publishing your first LLMS.txt file in about 15 minutes.
In this series:
- Why Your Website Needs an LLMS.txt File (And What the Heck That Even Means)
- What Industry Leaders Put in Their LLMS.txt Files (And How to Steal Their Strategies) –This article!
- How to Create Your First LLMS.txt File: A Step-by-Step Guide
- The LLMS.txt Domain Dilemma: Where Should You Actually Put Your File?
- How to Measure AI Traffic (And Whether Your LLMS.txt File Is Doing Anything at All)