Understanding llms.txt and agents.md: Helping AI Tools Understand Your Store

llms.txt and agents.md are text files that SHOPLINE automatically generates for every store, designed specifically for AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to read. When customers search for or compare products using AI tools, these files help the AI tools quickly understand what products your store sells and how its pages can be browsed. This allows AI tools to recommend your products more accurately and provide the correct product links.

This article explains what these files do, what information they contain, and how to view your store’s files.

What Are llms.txt and agents.md

llms.txt and agents.md are stored in the root directory of your store’s domain. They serve a similar purpose to robots.txt. While robots.txt is read by search engines, llms.txt and agents.md are read by AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and AI shopping assistants.

SHOPLINE automatically generates the following three files for every store:

• agents.md: The store’s main description file, and the canonical version that AI tools refer to when reading store information.
• llms.txt: Contains largely the same content as agents.md, and instructs AI tools to treat agents.md as the authoritative version.
• llms-full.txt: The full version. Contains largely the same content as agents.md, and instructs AI tools to treat agents.md as the authoritative version.

How llms.txt and agents.md Benefit Your Store

Without these files, AI tools usually need to browse your store’s pages on their own and then guess how your store is structured. This approach is slower and more prone to errors, such as recommending links that don’t work.

llms.txt and agents.md act as a map of your store for AI tools, helping them:

• Understand your store and products more quickly and accurately.
• Recommend suitable products to customers, along with links that open correctly.
• Direct customers to actual product pages and product category pages, avoiding broken or incorrect URLs.

For example, when a customer asks an AI tool, “What insulated tumblers make good gifts?”, the AI tool can refer to your store’s files to find relevant products and provide direct links to the product pages. Customers can then click a link to go straight to your store.

These files are generated automatically by the system. No setup is required.

Store Information Included in llms.txt and agents.md

All three files contain the same core information, organized in a format that AI tools can easily read:

• Store Overview: Store name, primary domain, and homepage SEO description.
• Product and Category Browsing: Explains how to browse all products, view individual product pages, browse product categories (including pagination), and use the store search.
• Store Basics: A link to the sitemap, and a statement that agents.md is the store’s canonical description file.
• Store Policies: Links to the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Refund Policy pages.
• AI Tool Usage Rules: Rules that AI tools must follow when recommending products. See below for details.
• Platform Information: States that the store is built on SHOPLINE, with links to the SHOPLINE website, Developer Center, and Help Center.

How to View Your Store’s llms.txt and agents.md

To view your store’s files, follow these steps:

1. Open a web browser.
2. Enter the file URL in the address bar, then press Enter.

The file URL consists of your store domain followed by the file name. For example, if your store domain is www.yourstore.com:

Replace www.yourstore.com with your store’s domain.

llms.txt and agents.md FAQ

Q1: Do I need to manually set up or enable llms.txt and agents.md?

No. SHOPLINE automatically generates these files for every store. No setup is required.

Q2: Can I edit the content of llms.txt and agents.md?

A: Merchants currently cannot edit these files.