GEO guides
llms.txt best practices
Help AI crawlers and answer engines discover your most important pages with a concise machine-readable index at /llms.txt.
Validate structure, links, and discoverability before you publish /llms.txt.
What is llms.txt?
llms.txt is a plain-text file at your site root (like robots.txt) that lists key URLs, docs, and a short site summary for large language model crawlers. It does not replace SEO — it complements crawl access, entity clarity, and quotable content for GEO (generative engine optimization).
Minimum structure
- Title — one H1 line:
# Your brand or product name - Summary — one paragraph in a blockquote:
> What you do and who you help - Primary links — markdown links to homepage, docs, pricing, and flagship content
- Keep it short — aim for under 100 lines; link to deeper docs instead of pasting them
Example llms.txt + curl check
# XenonFlare
> SEO audits, free tools, and AI visibility monitoring for website operators.
- [Home](https://xenonflare.com/)
- [Free tools](https://xenonflare.com/tools)
- [Developer API](https://xenonflare.com/docs/developer-api)
- [llms.txt guide](https://xenonflare.com/docs/guides/llms-txt-best-practices)Validate before you publish
Use the free llms.txt checker to fetch your live file or paste a draft. It flags missing titles, empty link lists, and structural gaps. Pair with the AI robots.txt checker so crawlers can actually reach /llms.txt.
Do not block AI crawlers by accident
If robots.txt blocks GPTBot, PerplexityBot, or ClaudeBot from /, your llms.txt file may never be read. Audit rules with the free AI robots checker, then allow citation crawlers you want in AI answers.
Scale with full-site GEO audits
A single-page check is enough to launch. For ongoing monitoring, run full-site crawls in XenonFlare — every scan includes a GEO readiness score alongside SEO, with llms.txt and AI-bot issues in your fix inbox.