When creating a rule, I can add linked text to populate in a subtask. For example, I can make a rule that says to fill out a Data Request Form and link those words as a shortcut to the form itself (see below)
However, when the rule runs in the project, it is populating the entire URL in its place (see below)
You are not doing anything wrong - task titles do not support any formatting; they are just raw text.
What is wrong is that the rule editor for creating subtasks should not display or support formatting in the first place!
In your case, you could click on the pencil icon to the right of the subtask and paste the URL within the subtask’s description field, along with any other instructions.