LLM.txt & AI Crawler Setup Guide for Online communities

Create a text file at /ai.txt with a brief introduction to your community's purpose and scope.

Include markdown-style links to your most important community spaces (e.g., key forums, onboarding guides, popular discussion categories).

Add a 'FAQ' section within the file to directly answer common queries from AI training bots about community governance, moderation policies, and user demographics.

User-agent: CommunityBot Allow: /discussions/ Allow: /knowledge-base/ Disallow: /user-profiles/

Verify your crawler permissions using a simulated bot tester or by monitoring initial crawl requests.

Monitor crawl frequency in your server logs to ensure community bots are accessing designated content areas and not sensitive user data.

Wrap core discussion threads within <article> tags to signal their individual importance and topic.

Use <section> tags with descriptive 'aria-label' attributes for distinct community categories or sub-forums (e.g., 'aria-label="Technical Support Discussions"').

Ensure all data presented in tables (e.g., user leaderboards, feature comparison charts) uses proper <thead> and <tbody> tags for structured data extraction.

Keep logically related discussion points or knowledge base articles within cohesive, digestible segments (e.g., under 750 words).

Avoid 'floating' context; explicitly state the primary subject or question being addressed at the beginning of each segment.

Eliminate ambiguous pronouns (e.g., 'it', 'they', 'this') and replace them with the specific community topic, feature, or user role being discussed.