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How to create an llms.txt file in five steps
Pick the pages, get a draft, follow the format, edit, then publish and check it.
Here is how to create an llms.txt file: write a short Markdown file with your site's name as an H1, a one-line summary, and lists of links to your most useful pages, then publish it at yoursite.com/llms.txt as plain text. The fastest way to get a correct first draft is to run your homepage through the seogeoaeo.ai llms.txt Generator, edit what it returns, and check it before it goes live.
The full process takes five steps.
Step 1: Decide which pages agents should read
An llms.txt file is not a sitemap. A sitemap lists every page you want indexed. An llms.txt is a short, curated list of the pages that explain what you do, aimed at AI agents that fetch it while answering a question. The proposal at llmstxt.org says the file should stay small enough to fit in a model's context, with the detail living behind the links.
Good candidates:
- What the product or service is
- Pricing or plans
- Key documentation or help pages
- Policies people often ask about, such as returns or support
Leave out blog archives, tag pages and anything thin.
Step 2: Get a draft
You have two routes.
Generate it. Paste your homepage URL into the seogeoaeo.ai llms.txt Generator. Add a site name if you want a different H1 than your page title. The run costs 15 credits and returns a Markdown draft. Every link in it is a public URL the run fetched, so nothing points to a page that does not exist.
Write it. Open a text editor and follow the format in step 3. This works well for small sites.
If you run WordPress, Yoast SEO can generate and refresh the file for you from its site feature settings, and that may be all you need.
Step 3: Follow the format
The order matters. The llms.txt proposal sets it out like this:
| Order | Section | Required |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | H1 with the site or project name | Yes |
| 2 | Blockquote with a short summary | No |
| 3 | Plain paragraphs or lists with extra context, no headings | No |
| 4 | H2 sections, each a list of links | No |
Each link line looks like - [Page name](https://example.com/page): what this page covers. The note after the colon is optional but helps an agent choose. A section called ## Optional is the convention for links an agent can skip when it is short on space.
Step 4: Edit the draft
Whatever produced the draft, read it as if you were the agent:
- Is the summary one or two plain sentences a stranger would understand?
- Is each link the best page for that subject?
- Are any important pages missing? Pages built only with JavaScript can be skipped by a generator that does not render them, so add them by hand.
- Does each note say what the page answers, without jargon?
The llms.txt proposal suggests a simple test: give an agent only your llms.txt and ask it questions about your site.
Step 5: Publish and check
Save the file as llms.txt and put it at the root of your site, so it loads at /llms.txt. Serve it as plain text, not as an HTML page. You can also place one under a path, such as /docs/llms.txt, to cover only that section.
Then check it. The seogeoaeo.ai llms.txt Generator does not validate a live file, so use the AI Agent Readiness Checker, which checks llms.txt syntax and links. It also accepts a pasted draft, so you can check before publishing.
Keep it current
When you launch a page or retire one, update the file. A dead link in llms.txt sends an agent nowhere. If you used the generator, rerun it after a big site change and compare the drafts.
One honest caveat: llms.txt is optional. It is not a Google search requirement and does not guarantee an AI assistant will mention you. It is a cheap way to give agents that look for it an accurate starting point.