Userlike offers a feature that enables enhanced message formatting within chatbots. This feature is applicable across various channels, including messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, and the chat widget for your websites. It's available for both UBL (Userlike Bot Language) chatbots and API chatbots.

Text Format Options

Both UBL and API chatbots now support two text format options for regular messages:

Plain text: A straightforward option that presents unformatted text, ensuring compatibility across all channels.

Markdown: A more versatile option that enables markdown formatting, allowing for text emphasis, lists, hyperlinks, and more.

UBL Chatbots and API Chatbots

Detailed information on UBL chatbots is available here. API chatbots offer integration through an added option in the requests payload. Detailed information on API chatbots is available here.

Channel-Specific Considerations

Different channels, including messaging apps and the Userlike chat widget, may support varying subsets of markdown formatting. The actual rendering and support for specific formatting features depend on the individual channel's capabilities.

Feature	Website	WhatsApp Business	Facebook	Telegram	Threema
Bold	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Italic	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Strike through	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Underline	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌
Hyperlink	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌
Inline code	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Code Block	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌
Ordered List	✅	🌓 1)	🌓 1)	🌓 1)	🌓 1)
Unordered List	✅	🌓 1)	🌓 1)	🌓 1)	🌓 1)
Block quote	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌

✅ - Supported ❌ - Not Supported 🌓 - Partially Supported

1) Ordered and unordered lists are partially supported on these channels but won’t have a proper support for nested lists, as well the indentation might be lost.

SMS

Does not support any markdown formatting. Sending texts over a SMS which contains markdown tags will be removed.

Custom

Sends out messages without any modification to the formatting to keep the control at your side.

Markdown V1 Specifications

Bold

markdown
This is a **bold text**

Italic

markdown
This *text* is *emphasized*

Strike through

markdown
The <s>old text</s> should be striked.

Underline

markdown
Let's <u>underline</u> this text.

Hyperlink

markdown
Please click [here](https://your-url.local)

Headers

markdown
# Header 1
## Header 2
### Header 3 
#### Header 4
##### Header 5

Code Block

markdown
```
A code block with content
```

Horizontal Rule

markdown
My message.

---
And a horizontal rule.

Lists

markdown
# Ordered List
1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3

# Unordered List
- Item A
- Item B
- Item C

Block quote

markdown
> This is a nested blockquote example
>
> > Can have a nested blockquote like
> > this.
>
> there you go.

Inline Code

markdown
`Inline code`

Message Formatting in Userlike Chatbots