Human Ai Interaction

HTML vs Markdown for AI Agents: Which Format Wins in 2026

The article explores the ongoing debate between HTML and Markdown as output formats for AI agents, arguing that the optimal choice depends on the audience. Markdown, while cheaper and machine-readable for agent-to-agent communication, contributes to human information overload due to its lack of visual density. HTML, despite higher token costs and security challenges, excels in human-facing interactions by providing rich, interactive, and visually dense outputs that aid comprehension. Major enterprise AI platforms are increasingly adopting HTML or similar structured UI components for human-consumable agent outputs, signaling a shift towards formats that balance efficiency with human understanding.