diff --git a/packages/angular-sdk-components/src/lib/_helpers/template-utils.ts b/packages/angular-sdk-components/src/lib/_helpers/template-utils.ts
index c351b8db..15b05853 100644
--- a/packages/angular-sdk-components/src/lib/_helpers/template-utils.ts
+++ b/packages/angular-sdk-components/src/lib/_helpers/template-utils.ts
@@ -52,6 +52,24 @@ export class TemplateUtils {
     // The raw metadata for `instructions` will be something like '@PARAGRAPH .SomeParagraphRule' but
     // it is evaluated by core logic to the content
     if (instructions !== 'casestep' && instructions !== 'none') {
+      // if the instructions contains a link, and the link is external, add a target attribute to open in a new window
+      if (instructions.includes('<a')) {
+        const parser = new DOMParser();
+        const htmlDoc = parser.parseFromString(instructions, 'text/html');
+        const anchorNode = htmlDoc.querySelector('a');
+        if (anchorNode) {
+          try {
+            const url = new URL(anchorNode.href);
+            if (url.origin !== window.location.origin) {
+              anchorNode.setAttribute('target', '_blank');
+              anchorNode.setAttribute('rel', 'noopener');
+              return htmlDoc.body.innerHTML;
+            }
+          } catch (e) {
+            console.error(e);
+          }
+        }
+      }
       return instructions;
     }
     return undefined;