llms.txt and AI crawler setup: a plain-words guide

What the setup includes

Quick test: Open yoursite.com/robots.txt and /llms.txt. If the second one is a 404, you have a starting point.

This setup gives your team a coordinated way to describe important site content and configure crawler-facing files. It includes creating and configuring an llms.txt file, updating robots rules specifically for AI user agents, and optimizing your sitemaps to guide crawler behavior. We finish with a report that records the changes and what they are intended to do.

The work is useful when your organization wants a clearer technical setup for AI crawlers, rather than a file added without checking how it fits the rest of the site. It is also a practical starting point if several teams manage publishing, technical SEO, or website access and need one agreed implementation.

Before work begins, prepare:

• The website and any subdomains or language versions in plan.
• The pages or content areas you want to make easier to discover, or restrict from access.
• A technical contact who can review or deploy file and configuration changes.

If you are still deciding whether the file is appropriate, read our llms.txt guide. For a broader view of AI search work, see AI search visibility.

llms.txt or robots.txt: which file does what?

llms.txt and robots.txt are different parts of the setup, so we treat them as separate what you receive. The llms.txt file is created and configured to present selected site information in a crawler-facing format. Robots rules are reviewed and updated specifically for AI user agents, according to the access approach agreed with your team.

That distinction matters when someone asks for a single file to control all AI access. Our work does not treat llms.txt as a replacement for robots rules, or assume that changing one file changes the other. We document each adjustment so your technical owner can see which file was touched and why.

A useful review prompt is: should a crawler be able to access a page, or should the site provide a clearer guide to its content? The first is a robots-rules question; the second may inform the llms.txt contents. We confirm the intended outcome with you before making changes.

For connected technical work, see Technical AEO. If your priority is how a particular assistant presents your organization, explore ChatGPT visibility or Perplexity optimization.

Where sitemaps fit in

Sitemap optimization is part of this service because it helps organize the paths you want crawlers to encounter. We review the sitemap setup within the agreed website plan and make relevant changes to guide crawler behavior. The aim is a coherent set of signals across the sitemap, llms.txt file, and robots rules—not a promise about how any outside platform will process them.

A focused plan makes this review more useful. Tell us which site sections represent your current organization, products, documentation, or editorial resources. Also flag outdated areas, duplicate versions, and pages that should not be part of the content guide. We can then distinguish material you want represented from material that should not be highlighted in the implementation.

For a smooth handoff, have the following ready:

• The current sitemap location and any known sitemap variants.
• A list of priority sections and content owners.
• Notes about staging sites, retired pages, or language versions that need separate treatment.

If you need to check the wider site before implementing changes, our GEO audit can help identify related visibility and technical questions. This service stays focused on the files and sitemap work described here.

From review to handoff

Common mistake: Blocking a crawler in robots.txt and then listing the same pages in llms.txt. Decide access first.

The engagement starts with a short plan check, then moves through file work, configuration, and a final review. The typical delivery window is one to two business days; having the relevant access and a responsive technical contact helps keep the work moving within that timeframe.

First, we confirm the site and the content priorities you want represented. Next, we create and configure llms.txt, review the relevant AI-user-agent rules, and optimize the sitemap within the agreed plan. We then check the changes against the agreed brief and send the final report, which summarizes what changed and the intended effect.

The handoff is designed to be actionable for both marketing and technical teams. Ask us to make the report identify the file or configuration area, the change made, and any deployment or ownership note your team needs. If your team deploys changes itself, confirm who will apply them and how we should verify the live version. If MarketingExtra carries out the configuration, we include the work completed in the same report.

For related ongoing measurement after the setup, see AI visibility monitoring.

Your 6-point crawler setup checklist

Go through this checklist before anyone changes a file. A clear access plan on paper saves most of the rework. If a line is hard to tick, that is useful news: it shows what to settle before any money or time is spent.

1. List the content areas AI tools should read.
2. List any areas that must stay out of reach.
3. Check the current robots.txt and note every rule.
4. Confirm the sitemap lists only live, canonical pages.
5. Draft llms.txt with a one-line description per area.
6. Test each file, then save a dated copy.

Terms in one line

robots.txt (in plain words: a file that tells crawlers which paths they may visit).

llms.txt means a plain file that points AI tools to your most useful pages.

What these files cannot control

The setup controls the files and changes included in the agreed website plan; it does not set the policies of external AI platforms. We implement and report the llms.txt, robots-rule, and sitemap work, but each platform decides how it interprets or applies those files under its own editorial and indexing policies.

That is why the final report describes the intended effect rather than claiming a particular assistant will crawl, index, cite, or display specific pages. Before approving the work, make sure the desired outcome is something your organization can control: accurate files, clear access preferences, and a sitemap aligned with the plan. Treat a specific platform response as an observation to assess separately, not as a item you receive of file configuration.

For a practical internal check, have your technical owner review the live files after deployment and confirm that they match the approved changes. Keep a copy of the report with your site documentation so future editors know why the files were configured this way. If the site structure changes later, revisit the files as part of that update rather than assuming the original setup remains aligned.

Pairing crawler setup with other AI work

Combine this setup with other work when file configuration is only one part of the challenge. If your content is difficult to quote or lacks clear explanations, improving crawler-facing files alone will not make the pages more useful to readers or AI systems. In that situation, pair the technical setup with content for AI answers, which focuses on making information clearer and more citable.

If you first need to understand how your organization appears across AI search experiences, start with an AI presence audit, then use its findings to decide whether this implementation is the right next step. If the primary need is broader site-level optimization, our technical AEO service covers adjacent technical considerations.

Send 3 things: your site, the 5 content areas that matter most, and the contact who can edit server files.

How it works

1. Share the site and prioritiesSend the website, priority content areas, sitemap location, and any access preferences. Name the technical contact who can review or deploy changes.
2. Confirm the planWe agree which site sections, language versions, and relevant AI user-agent rules are in plan before work begins.
3. Configure the filesWe create and configure llms.txt, update the relevant robots rules, and optimize the sitemap within the agreed plan.
4. Review the changesWe check the completed work against the agreed priorities and prepare a report describing the changes and intended effect.
5. Hand over the reportYour team receives the final report and can use it to verify deployment and keep ownership information with site documentation.