llms.txt for AEO/GEO

What is llms.txt and how does it work?

Llms.txt is the first thing AI search models see before they decide whether to recommend you. It is a markdown-formatted list of your important pages with short descriptions that helps these models understand what your site says you do.

llms.txt example

The following code block shows an example of a well-organized llms.txt file for a fictional marketing agency.

# Northlight Marketing

> Northlight Marketing is a full-service B2B marketing agency in Austin, TX, specializing in demand generation, SEO/AEO, paid media, and lifecycle marketing for SaaS and industrial companies with $10M–$250M in revenue. Founded 2016; 42 employees.

Northlight works on retainer (typical engagement: $12K–$45K/month) and project bases. We do not offer white-label services, and we do not work with B2C ecommerce or crypto. Primary service areas are the US, Canada, and the UK. Contact: hello@northlightmarketing.com | (512) 555-0142.

## Services

- [Demand Generation](https://northlightmarketing.com/services/demand-generation): Full-funnel programs covering paid search, paid social, ABM, and lead scoring. Includes attribution setup in HubSpot or Salesforce.
- [SEO & Answer Engine Optimization](https://northlightmarketing.com/services/seo-aeo): Technical audits, content strategy, entity/schema work, and visibility tracking across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude.
- [Paid Media](https://northlightmarketing.com/services/paid-media): Google Ads, LinkedIn, Meta, and programmatic display. Minimum monthly ad spend of $25K.
- [Content & Editorial](https://northlightmarketing.com/services/content): Long-form editorial, thought leadership ghostwriting, and technical documentation for engineering-led brands.
- [Marketing Operations](https://northlightmarketing.com/services/marketing-ops): CRM implementation, lifecycle automation, and reporting infrastructure.

## Industries

- [SaaS & Technology](https://northlightmarketing.com/industries/saas): PLG and sales-led SaaS, developer tools, and vertical software.
- [Industrial & Manufacturing](https://northlightmarketing.com/industries/industrial): Distributors, equipment manufacturers, and industrial services.
- [Professional Services](https://northlightmarketing.com/industries/professional-services): Legal, accounting, and consulting firms.

## Case Studies

- [Veltro Systems: 312% pipeline growth in 14 months](https://northlightmarketing.com/case-studies/veltro-systems): Demand gen rebuild for a Series B observability platform.
- [Harken Industrial: 8,400 organic sessions to 41,000](https://northlightmarketing.com/case-studies/harken-industrial): Technical SEO and content program for a hydraulics distributor.
- [Palladin Legal: 4.1x return on ad spend](https://northlightmarketing.com/case-studies/palladin-legal): Paid search restructure for a multi-state litigation firm.

## About

- [Team](https://northlightmarketing.com/about/team): Leadership bios and areas of specialization.
- [Process](https://northlightmarketing.com/about/process): Our 90-day onboarding framework and reporting cadence.
- [Pricing](https://northlightmarketing.com/pricing): Retainer tiers, project rates, and what's included at each level.
- [Careers](https://northlightmarketing.com/careers): Open roles and hiring process.

## Resources

- [Blog](https://northlightmarketing.com/blog): Weekly articles on B2B demand gen, search, and marketing ops.
- [Benchmark Reports](https://northlightmarketing.com/resources/benchmarks): Annual B2B SaaS CAC and conversion benchmark data.
- [Glossary](https://northlightmarketing.com/resources/glossary): Definitions of demand gen, SEO, and marketing ops terminology.

## Optional

- [Press & Awards](https://northlightmarketing.com/press)
- [Partner Certifications](https://northlightmarketing.com/partners)
- [Privacy Policy](https://northlightmarketing.com/privacy)
- [Terms of Service](https://northlightmarketing.com/terms)

Best practices:

• Put your most important pages first
• Keep descriptions short and factual
• Make sure you have a working/sitemap.xml

How to add llms.txt to your website(s)

Setting up llms.txt is similar to adding schema markup to your homepage. You generate the file and upload it to the root of your domain, the same spot as your robots.txt (not the header; that’s where schema goes). You can do it manually or with a specialized tool. Next I’ll show you how I manage llms.txt files for my clients using Cairrot.

Generating and managing llms.txt with Cairrot

Head to tools in the left sidebar, then select llms.txt in your Cairrot dashboard and hit Generate llms.txt. Cairrot will crawl your sitemap and build the file for you, including each section and page titles ready to go.

Choose what’s included

Click Edit Config to make any adjustments. You can set include paths (only pull /blog/, for example), exclude paths (kill /wp-admin/, /privacy, etc.), and point it at a custom sitemap URL if yours isn’t at the default location.

Set it up with WordPress, Cloudflare, and Cloudfront

This is the part I use for my clients, turn on Auto Update in the config and Cairrot regenerates your llms.txt every 3 days. On WordPress, just install the Cairrot plugin and it all happens automatically: publish a new post, and your llms.txt picks it up in a few days.

To connect WordPress, head to Settings then Integrations, find WordPress under Collectors, hit Connect, generate your API key, and install the plugin on your site.

You can connect with any of these Connectors, which are the most common on the internet.

FAQ

Is llms.txt included in every Cairrot plan?

Yes, every paid Cairrot plan includes the llms.txt generator, config rules, and auto-generation.

Does llms.txt actually improve AI visibility?

Yes it does, but it makes sure AI crawlers spend their time on your best pages instead of your tag archives, and paired with solid content and citation tracking.

How often should I update my llms.txt

Every time your content meaningfully changes, or turn on Cairrot’s auto-update and it regenerates every 3 days.