With AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity rapidly becoming default “search engines” for millions of users, how your content is discovered is changing fast. Traditional SEO is no longer the only game in town. Today, one powerful but underutilized tool you can use to guide these AI crawlers is a simple file called llms.txt.

Think of it as a reading list for AI models. You’re not controlling them—you’re helping them help you. In this detailed guide, we’ll show you how to create and optimize a llms.txt file for your website, both manually and using Rank Math. We’ll explain the purpose, syntax, structure, and best practices, so by the end of this article, you’ll be ahead of the curve in AI-first search optimization.

Let’s dive in.

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🧠 What Is llms.txt?

Let’s start by understanding the purpose.

llms.txt stands for Large Language Model Sitemap Text File. It’s a simple .txt file placed at the root of your website, designed to guide AI models on what content from your site is most relevant and useful.

📝 Think of it like robots.txt, but instead of blocking bots, you’re giving permission and suggestions: “Here’s what you should read if you want to understand my site.”

AI tools don’t crawl the web exactly like Google. If your most useful content isn’t easy to find or isn’t clearly signposted, it might be missed—even if it’s helpful and well-written.

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🤔 Why Should You Use llms.txt?

Still wondering whether it’s worth the effort? Here’s what llms.txt can do:

• Improves discoverability: AI bots can understand what’s essential on your site.
• Better representation in AI answers: Your valuable articles and guides are more likely to be used in AI responses.
• A new layer of SEO: As AI search becomes more common, optimizing for AI models will be a crucial new form of search engine optimization.

And importantly, this standard is still in its early stages, meaning implementing it now puts you ahead of the curve.

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🌐 Real-World Adoption: Who’s Using llms.txt?

Some big companies have already adopted the llms.txt standard, including:

• Zapier
• Anthropic
• Kaggle

While it’s not yet an official W3C standard, more AI companies and tools are beginning to support it. You can view a curated list of sites that have implemented it to get inspiration.

✅ Implementing llms.txt is safe. It doesn’t affect your site’s performance, visibility, or user experience—only helps AI bots do their job better.

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🧰 Methods to Create llms.txt: Manual vs. Rank Math

Let’s now look at how to create a llms.txt file using two approaches:

1. Manual (For all types of websites)
2. Using Rank Math SEO plugin (For WordPress users)

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📁 Method 1: Manual Creation for Any Website

Let’s begin with the manual method, which works regardless of which CMS or platform you use.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Log in to your hosting account:
   • Use cPanel, Plesk, or a custom dashboard depending on your host.
   • Find the File Manager.
2. Navigate to the root directory:
   • Usually /public_html or /www.
   • This is the same location as your robots.txt file.
3. Create a new file:
   • Name it exactly llms.txt.
4. Edit the file:
   • Right-click and select Edit.
   • For now, add a test line: This is a llms.txt file.
5. Save and close the file.
6. Verify it works:
   • Visit https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt in your browser.
   • You should see the content you added.

⚠️ Tip: If you’re stuck finding File Manager or can’t access root, contact your hosting provider for help.

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⚙️ Method 2: Using Rank Math (WordPress Only)

Now, let’s move on to the easier and automated method using the Rank Math SEO plugin. This works even in the free version.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Install and activate Rank Math from the WordPress plugins directory.
2. Enable the LLMS module:
   • Go to Rank Math > Dashboard.
   • Scroll and enable the module labeled “LLMS txt”.
3. Configure the settings:
   • Go to Rank Math > General Settings > Edit LLMS txt.
   • You’ll now see a pre-created llms.txt file.
4. Choose what content to include:
   • Check the boxes for Posts, Pages, or Products.
   • Avoid cluttering it with everything. Focus on your most helpful content.
5. Set max number of links per post type:
   • This limits file size and keeps it within AI model token limits.
6. Use Additional Content section for customization:
   • Add manually curated sections here (we’ll cover syntax next).
   • Click Save Changes.
7. Verify:
   • Visit https://yourdomain.com/llms.txt.
   • Your file should now be active and listing key content links.

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🧾 Understanding the Syntax of llms.txt

Now that your file exists, let’s talk about what to put inside it.

The file is written in markdown-style syntax, which is easily understood by most AI crawlers.

Here’s a breakdown:

Symbol	Meaning
#	H1 Heading (Site Title)
##	H2 Heading (Content Section)
- or *	List item (each link)
[Text](URL)	Markdown link format
**text**	Bold text

Example:

# My Website Name

## Knowledge Base: Getting Started
- [Install Guide](https://example.com/install) : How to install the product
- [User Manual](https://example.com/manual) : Step-by-step instructions

## Tutorials
- [How to Optimize Images](https://example.com/optimize-images) : Boost your site speed

🧠 AI models crawl this and prioritize the pages listed when generating answers.

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🧼 Best Practices for Creating a Clean llms.txt File

Let’s move to some best practices so you don’t just create a file, but a helpful one:

• ✅ Include only high-quality content (tutorials, guides, product explainers).
• ❌ Avoid linking to login, cart, checkout, privacy policy, or low-value pages.
• 🔄 Update the file regularly when you publish new pillar content.
• 🔗 Double-check that all links work—broken links confuse AI bots.
• ⚖️ Don’t overload the file—keep it concise. Use only top-performing URLs.
• 📝 Use descriptive labels and bold headers for better context.

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🔁 Advanced Tip: Customizing With Rank Math

Want more control? Use the Additional Content field in Rank Math’s llms.txt editor.

You can:

• Group links by topic
• Add descriptions after the link (use :)
• Use bold headers (**text**)
• Format everything manually to showcase structure

This is great for curated knowledge bases, product documentation, or service explainers.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is llms.txt officially supported by all AI bots?
A: Not yet, but adoption is growing rapidly among platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.

Q: Does this replace robots.txt?
A: No, robots.txt is for search engines like Google. llms.txt is for AI models to understand your site’s best content.

Q: Can it hurt my SEO or ranking?
A: No. It has no negative impact and does not affect Google rankings directly.

Q: What’s the ideal number of links to include?
A: There’s no official limit, but staying under 1,000 tokens (words + symbols) is ideal for AI models.

Q: Can I automate updates?
A: With Rank Math, updates can be automated using dynamic content selection. Manual updates are recommended for curated content.

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🧠 Final Thoughts: llms.txt Is SEO for AI

If you’ve optimized for Google, you know how important clarity, structure, and indexing are.

Now it’s time to do the same—but for AI.

The llms.txt file is your chance to guide large language models to your most valuable content, so when someone asks ChatGPT a question your site can answer—you actually get credit.

It only takes 10 minutes to set up, has zero downside, and might just give your content visibility in the AI-first future.

So don’t wait—set up your llms.txt file today.

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Tags:

llms.txt, ai seo, chatgpt seo, optimize for ai search, rank math, wordpress seo, ai content discovery, large language models, seo for chatgpt, llms txt syntax, ai optimization

Hashtags:

#LLMSEO #AIOptimization #SEO2025 #ChatGPTSEO #RankMath #LLMSTxt #AIFirstSEO #ContentDiscovery #WordPressSEO #OpenAI #ClaudeBot

Daniel Hughes

Daniel is a UK-based AI researcher and content creator. He has worked with startups focusing on machine learning applications, exploring areas like generative AI, voice synthesis, and automation. Daniel explains complex concepts like large language models and AI productivity tools in simple, practical terms.

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