---
optiview_delivery: edge_optimized
content_type: semantic_markdown
source_url: https://optiview.ai/resources/html-to-markdown-api-guide/
brand_content: included
publication_version: "9.0"
published_at: 2026-10-16T20:36:07Z
composition_version: composition-v2.1.0
presentation_version: presentation-v1.2.3
brand_content_source: narrative_graph
delivery_publication: graph:33
narrative_versions:
  - 33
narrative_version: 33
---

[Resources](https://optiview.ai/resources/) [Implementation and operations](https://optiview.ai/resources/topics/implementation/)

Developer guide — October 30, 2026

# How to convert HTML to Markdown for AI applications

If your application already has HTML, you do not need to fetch the page a second time. Prepare the source once, convert it, and keep the result with the processing record.

By Optiview · Sources checked October 30, 2026

[Download this article (.md)](https://optiview.ai/resources/html-to-markdown-api-guide.md)

HTML contains useful information alongside layout code, menus and other page elements. Markdown can make useful text, headings and links easier for an application to inspect, store and pass into a later workflow. The format alone does not guarantee better AI answers.

This guide uses [Optiview Parse](https://optiview.ai/products/parse/). It converts caller-supplied HTML and returns Markdown with source and extraction metadata. It does not fetch the identity URL, execute scripts, verify the source’s claims or publish the result.

## 1\. Choose the source you actually have

Use complete HTML that your application is authorized to process. If you only have a public URL, start with [Retrieve](https://optiview.ai/products/retrieve/) instead. A partial fragment, a challenge page or an empty JavaScript shell can fail source review even when a browser displays a useful page.

Keep the original source identity with the HTML. Parse requires an absolute HTTPS identity URL without embedded credentials, custom ports or fragments. Relative links are resolved using that identity; the URL is not fetched and does not prove where the supplied HTML originated.

*   HTML source: up to 2,000,000 UTF-8 bytes.
*   Encoded JSON request: up to 2,100,000 bytes; escaping can increase its size.
*   Prepared Markdown: up to 512,000 UTF-8 bytes.
*   Omit service secrets, session cookies and confidential material from the HTML.

## 2\. Prepare a reproducible request

Create a developer workspace, add credits and issue a service key with the parse scope. Keep that key on your server. Successful Parse processing costs 1 credit; rejected requests and failed jobs consume no credits. [Follow the account and key setup guide](https://optiview.ai/developers/quickstart/).

Save the full HTML in page.html. Save the following as prepare-request.mjs and run node prepare-request.mjs with Node.js22+. It creates parse-request.json without hand-escaping HTML inside a shell command:

JavaScriptCopy

```
import {readFile, writeFile} from 'node:fs/promises';

const html = await readFile('page.html', 'utf8');
await writeFile('parse-request.json', JSON.stringify({
  html,
  url: 'https://example.com/support'
}));
```

Replace the identity URL with the source you are processing. Save an idempotency key with your logical work item before submission. Use that same key and identical serialized input if the outcome is uncertain.

curlCopy

```
curl --request POST https://api.optiview.ai/v1/parse \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $OPTIVIEW_API_KEY" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --header "Idempotency-Key: article-parse-example-001" \
  --data @parse-request.json
```

## 3\. Read status before reading Markdown

The API returns a durable job record, not bare Markdown. Direct requests execute in the original request when capacity permits. A pending response uses HTTP202 and retains a job ID. Poll that ID with the originating service application; do not create another work item just because the first request timed out.

Only status:succeeded with a result provides usable content. A terminal failed job can use HTTP200, so checking the HTTP status alone is insufficient. Read error\_code on failed jobs, and use the [error and retry guide](https://optiview.ai/developers/errors/) to distinguish input corrections from temporary conditions.

curlCopy

```
curl https://api.optiview.ai/v1/jobs/JOB_ID \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $OPTIVIEW_API_KEY"
```

Poll at intervals of at least two seconds with a bounded wait. The [JavaScript](https://optiview.ai/developers/javascript/) and [Python](https://optiview.ai/developers/python/) guides include complete examples that handle pending and terminal states.

## 4\. Inspect what the conversion preserved

For a representative page, compare the returned Markdown with the original source. Check important product names, quantities, prices, restrictions and links. Do not evaluate a conversion using word count alone: retaining a footer is not the same as retaining the information your application needs.

Store result.markdown with the source basis, observation timestamp, payload hash, parser version and source-review record. The decoded source hash identifies the HTML that was processed. It does not certify the origin or freshness of the underlying page.

API result availability ends seven days after job creation. If your application needs the output later, retain it in your own storage under your own access and retention policies. See [Jobs and results](https://optiview.ai/developers/jobs/) for the complete field reference.

## 5\. Use the content safely downstream

Treat source text as untrusted data. A page can contain misleading claims or instructions directed at an agent. Do not let retrieved text authorize secret access, tool calls, publication or spending.

For a retrieval-augmented generation application, parsing is one step before your own chunking, indexing, retrieval and answer-generation layers. Test those layers separately. Neither conversion nor a source hash guarantees that a generated answer is correct or that it cites the source.

If your goal is to publish your own website with reviewed brand context, use [Publish](https://optiview.ai/products/publish/). Developer Parse results do not change your website or include a private Narrative Graph.

[Parse API reference](https://optiview.ai/developers/parse/) · [OpenAPI specification](https://optiview.ai/developers/openapi/) · [Pricing](https://optiview.ai/pricing/)

## Additional source context

Choose Parse when you have HTML. Treat successful Markdown as source data, check job status explicitly, and preserve the original work item’s idempotency key during recovery.

Make your brand easier for AI to understand.

### Explore

[Website publishing](https://optiview.ai/products/publish/) · [Developer tools](https://optiview.ai/products/#developers) · [Pricing](https://optiview.ai/pricing/)

### Learn

[Guides](https://optiview.ai/resources/) · [Developer docs](https://optiview.ai/developers/) · [Research](https://optiview.ai/proof/) · [FAQ](https://optiview.ai/faq/)

### Company

[About Optiview](https://optiview.ai/about/) · [Agencies](https://optiview.ai/partners/) · [Contact](https://optiview.ai/#contact) · [Privacy](https://optiview.ai/privacy/) · [Billing terms](https://optiview.ai/billing-policy/)

## Additional page links

- [Does AI receive the page your visitors see?](https://optiview.ai/resources/website-platforms-ai-readability/) — Continue reading
- [Four files. Four different jobs.](https://optiview.ai/resources/four-discovery-files/) — Continue reading
- [How to retrieve a webpage as Markdown for a RAG workflow](https://optiview.ai/resources/webpage-to-markdown-for-rag/) — Continue reading
- [Preview a page](https://optiview.ai/demo/) — Continue reading
- [Read the setup guide](https://optiview.ai/docs/setup/) — Continue reading


---

# Published brand narrative

# Site-wide brand information

## Who we are

### Optiview — Parse, Retrieve and Publish for AI

Optiview helps businesses and developers make website information easier for AI to use. Parse converts supplied HTML into clean Markdown and source metadata. Retrieve fetches an eligible public HTTPS webpage and prepares its content. Publish helps a verified business prepare its own website content and make approved Narrative Graph context available through a supported connection.

Parse and Retrieve use application keys and a prepaid developer wallet. Publish has separate website setup, ownership checks and a subscription. Optiview does not control whether an outside AI service discovers, uses or cites the resulting content.

Applies to: Optiview

## Why we matter

### A clearer source, from website content to business context

Webpages mix useful information with navigation, layout and application code. Businesses may also have important qualifications, answers and context that are not clearly published.

Optiview gives developers a way to prepare source content for their applications, and gives businesses a way to publish the context their teams approve. Your application chooses how to use Parse and Retrieve results. Your business controls what it publishes through Publish.

Clearer publishing makes information available; it does not determine an AI system’s answer. Each outside service chooses its own retrieval, recommendations and citations.

## What we offer

### Three products, with separate jobs and clear pricing

- **Optiview Parse:** Supply complete HTML and a source URL. Receive clean Markdown, source and output hashes, parser details and processing warnings. Parse does not fetch the URL or execute JavaScript. A successful page uses 1 credit.
- **Optiview Retrieve:** Supply one eligible public HTTPS URL. Optiview checks supported access and publisher policies, fetches anonymous static HTML and parses it. It does not search the web, execute JavaScript, bypass a login or access private networks. A successful page uses 5 credits total, including parsing.
- **Developer credits:** USD $20 buys 20,000 credits shared by Parse and Retrieve. There is no developer subscription, automatic recharge or scheduled credit expiration. Failed jobs consume no credits. Applicable taxes and the total appear at checkout. Source size, quotas and retention limits apply.
- **Optiview Publish:** USD $99 per website per month plus applicable tax. Connect a verified website, review the prepared source and optionally maintain approved Narrative Graph context in Identity, Story, Offerings, Trust, Knowledge and Actions. Choose site-wide or exact-page scope. Saving drafts does not publish them. Eligible AI tools can receive prepared Markdown or HTML through supported delivery, while ordinary visitors keep the normal website.

Developer credits do not purchase Publish subscriptions. Parse and Retrieve do not add a customer’s private Narrative Graph to arbitrary third-party pages. See https://optiview.ai/pricing/ and https://optiview.ai/developers/ for the current offer and limits.

## Why trust us

### Inspect the output and understand what the evidence establishes

Developers can inspect the prepared Markdown, job status, source metadata, processing warnings and credit ledger. Retrieve records the public source response it observed; Parse identifies supplied HTML rather than claiming to verify the current origin.

Publish administrators can review parser output, the combined published-output preview, source checks and publication history. A preview is separate from a recorded live delivery. Saved edits remain separate from the active publication until explicitly published.

Our experiment pages contain selected first-party AI conversations and source comparisons. Delivery records establish what was served, not downstream ingestion, recommendations, citations or revenue. Observed language matches do not establish causation or a consistent visibility improvement. Explore the evidence and limitations at https://optiview.ai/proof/.

## Helpful knowledge

### Common questions about the three products

**Which product should I use?**
Use Parse when you already have HTML. Use Retrieve when you need Optiview to fetch one eligible public page first. Use Publish when your business wants to prepare its verified website and publish approved context.

**Do Parse and Retrieve require website ownership or DNS changes?**
No website connection is needed for these developer products. You remain responsible for source rights and permitted downstream use. Public availability does not grant a reuse license.

**How do developer accounts and keys work?**
Create a developer workspace and save the personal sign-in key and offline recovery code. Create scoped service keys for server-side applications. Email is an unverified contact identifier, not account-ownership proof or an email-only recovery method. Keep all credentials private.

**Can my agent use Optiview?**
The authenticated developer API returns prepared content for your application or model. A downloadable JavaScript client and local MCP adapter are available. Your host must authorize sources and any credit expenditure. Compatibility does not establish adoption or a partnership with an AI provider.

**Does the API include my private Narrative Graph?**
Parse and Retrieve are source-only. Verified website publishing and approved publisher context belong to the separate Publish workflow.

**Does Publish replace our website or CMS?**
No. Your website stays in its existing system. Your web team establishes and tests a supported connection. Your team reviews and explicitly publishes any Narrative Graph additions. Ordinary visitors retain the normal website experience.

**Does every AI tool get the prepared version?**
No. Delivery depends on the website connection, source eligibility and the request. Some tools explicitly request Markdown; supported AI requests may also receive prepared Markdown or HTML through eligible delivery paths. Traditional search crawlers retain the original website response. A claimed tool name does not prove the requester’s identity.

**Does the demo publish or save to our workspace?**
No. The public demo is a separate preview. Its AI-generated examples require review and do not transfer automatically into an approved publication.

**Will Optiview guarantee citations or recommendations?**
No. Optiview prepares and publishes sources. Outside AI services choose what to retrieve, use and cite.

## What to do next

### Choose your starting point

- [Compare Parse, Retrieve and Publish](https://optiview.ai/products/) to choose the right workflow.
- [Create a developer workspace](https://app.optiview.ai/developers) for self-service Parse and Retrieve, then add credits and create an application key.
- [Read the API quickstart and agent-tool setup](https://optiview.ai/developers/) for request examples, supported sources, errors, quotas and downloads.
- [Review pricing and terms](https://optiview.ai/pricing/) for prepaid credits and the separate Publish plan.
- [Preview your website](https://optiview.ai/demo/) to inspect prepared content and explore unapproved narrative examples without connecting or publishing.
- [Plan Publish setup](https://optiview.ai/onboarding/) with your web team. Publishing requires ownership checks, review and a supported connection; contact [hello@optiview.ai](mailto:hello@optiview.ai) for assisted setup.

Already using Publish? Review your Narrative Graph, publish approved changes explicitly, inspect the combined source in Markdown and check recorded delivery in Activity. Keep your existing visibility tools to study downstream AI answers.