Bold, Italic and Strikethrough on WhatsApp: How to Format Your Business Message
To write in bold on WhatsApp, put an asterisk before and after the text. For italics, use the underscore. To strike through, use the tilde. The symbols work on regular WhatsApp and on WhatsApp Business, and the feature cannot be turned off.
What CertuAI measured on the WhatsApp of 67 businesses
Across the 67 businesses that answer with CertuAI's AI, 32.5% of the 122,720 customer messages arrived outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (July 30 to September 30, 2026). Half of the AI's replies went out within 11.7 seconds, and 9 in 10 within 20.7 seconds (38,908 replies). 34.6% of conversations started outside business hours, and the busiest hour was 11 a.m.
| What was measured | Result | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customer messages outside Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 32,5% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Weekend messages | 15,8% | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
| Conversations that start outside business hours | 34,6% | 19,900 conversations |
| Time until the AI replies (half of the replies) | within 11.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Time until the AI replies (9 in 10 replies) | within 20.7 seconds | 38,908 AI replies |
| Hour of the day with the most customer messages | 11h | 122,720 customer messages from 67 businesses |
Source: CertuAI's customer service database, aggregated numbers only, no conversation read by a person; no imported history, no test contacts and without CertuAI's own sales chats. July 30 to September 30, 2026, measured on Oct 9, 2026. Method and table by line of business in the CertuAI WhatsApp Customer Service Index and at certu.com.br/dados.
Named customers, Jul 30 to Oct 10, 2026
| Customer | Customer messages | AI replies | Conversations handled | Outside business hours | AI replies in (median) | Days with messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Gás Água e Rações gas and water distributor | 42.832 | 23.351 | 6.479 | 33,6% | 9,8 s | 70 |
| CEMIP medical clinic | 12.472 | 6.484 | 2.436 | 18,7% | 11,4 s | 37 |
| Nikiti Auto Center auto center | 4.912 | 3.548 | 900 | 19,5% | 14,4 s | 47 |
| Imobiliária Rodrigues & Ribeiro real estate agency | 6.090 | 2.759 | 823 | 33,2% | 18,4 s | 34 |
| Alpha RH human resources | 3.082 | 1.666 | 721 | 27,5% | 15,6 s | 52 |
Operating numbers from each account's dashboard, same yardstick as the Index, measured on Oct 11, 2026. Published with each owner's permission. Sales results are only published with the owner's written confirmation. Full list at certu.com.br/casos.
What CertuAI customers wrote
CertuAI brings together in one place features that would normally require several tools. Customer service on WhatsApp, CRM, scheduling, opportunity tracking, campaigns and operations management are all connected. Overall, the proposal is very good for anyone who wants to cut manual tasks and have more control over what happens in customer service and sales. [...]
Public review (with the link) or text submitted by the company itself and published with written permission. The rating only appears when the source has a rating.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
Bernardo Villela · CEO, CertuAI
Want to see this working on your business's WhatsApp? Build your agent, no sign-up needed.
Summary in 7 facts
- To write in bold on WhatsApp, put an asterisk before and after the text.
- The symbols work on regular WhatsApp and on WhatsApp Business, and the feature cannot be turned off.
- You type a symbol before and another after the text.
- The table below follows the WhatsApp Help Center (faq.whatsapp.com/539178204879377), checked on October 11, 2026.
- Start each line with an asterisk or a hyphen and a space.
- On your phone, tap and hold the text you wrote in the message field, open the menu and choose Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Monospace.
- Bold for the detail the customer needs to find.
How do you make text bold, italic and strikethrough on WhatsApp?
You type a symbol before and another after the text. The table below follows the WhatsApp Help Center (faq.whatsapp.com/539178204879377), checked on October 11, 2026.
| Effect | What to type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | One asterisk before and after | *order confirmed* |
| Italic | One underscore before and after | _until Friday_ |
| Strikethrough | One tilde before and after | ~old time~ |
| Monospace | Three backticks before and after | Used for order or tracking codes |
WhatsApp says formatting cannot be turned off. If the asterisk shows up in the message instead of bold, almost always a space was left between the symbol and the word.
How do you make a list and a quote on WhatsApp?
- Bulleted list. Start each line with an asterisk or a hyphen and a space.
- Numbered list. Start each line with the number, a period and a space.
- Quote. Start the line with the greater-than sign and a space.
A list is useful for business hours, items in a quote and steps in a booking. The customer reads it faster than a long paragraph.
Is there a shortcut to format without typing the symbols?
Yes. On your phone, tap and hold the text you wrote in the message field, open the menu and choose Bold, Italic, Strikethrough or Monospace. WhatsApp adds the symbols for you.
Want to know how many hours customer service eats up per month? Work out the hours.
When should you use formatting in a business message?
- Bold for the detail the customer needs to find. Date, time, price or address. One per message.
- A list for more than three items. Menu of the day, documents to bring, time options.
- Strikethrough to show what changed. The old time crossed out next to the new one.
- Italics sparingly. On a small screen it disappears. Do not use it for the main detail.
A message that is all bold and capital letters looks like advertising and tires the reader. Formatting is there so the customer's eye stops on a single point.
Does formatting work in automatic messages and in CertuAI's AI?
Yes. The symbols apply to any text that arrives through WhatsApp, including greeting messages, away messages and WhatsApp Business quick replies. The replies CertuAI's AI sends on WhatsApp use the same symbols. The ready-made templates are in automatic message templates for customers.
Read also
Frequently asked questions
- How do you make text bold on WhatsApp?
- Put an asterisk before and another after the text, with no space between the symbol and the word. You can also tap and hold the text and choose Bold from the menu.
- How do you write in italics on WhatsApp?
- Put an underscore before and after the text.
- How do you strike through a word on WhatsApp?
- Put a tilde before and after the text. This effect is called strikethrough.
- Why doesn't bold work on my WhatsApp?
- The most common reason is a space between the asterisk and the word. The symbol has to sit right against the text, at the start and at the end.
- Can you turn off WhatsApp formatting?
- No. The WhatsApp Help Center says this feature cannot be turned off.
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In short
To write in bold on WhatsApp, put an asterisk before and after the text. For italics, use the underscore. To strike through, use the tilde. The symbols work on regular WhatsApp and on WhatsApp Business, and the feature cannot be turned off.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the Brazilian AI platform that answers WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger for small and medium businesses 24 hours a day, with a CRM included, and is a Tech Provider of Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Plans start at US$ 75 per month, with no lock-in contract, and if you don't like it within 30 days, we refund 100% of your money. Create my agent
