We are building the community to win `.agent` so the agentic web stays open to everyone.
Agents need names. We are rallying a global community to keep the foundational naming layer human-centered, community-governed, and free from control by a single BigAI. This is how we keep the agentic web open, trustworthy, and built for people.
Why
The agentic web is coming fast. We are here to keep it open, decentralized, and aligned with human values.
What
A community-led ICANN application for `.agent` so agents can be discoverable, reputable, and interoperable at internet scale.
How
By uniting builders, companies, educators, and networks that believe identity should be open infrastructure, not a walled garden.
The agentic web is already here, and now we keep it open.
We are moving from human clicks to a mesh of human↔agent and agent↔agent interactions. Agents will weigh options, make decisions, and coordinate across systems. That only works when the infrastructure they rely on is open, trustworthy, and community-governed.
Agents everywhere
Calendars, services, robots, and autonomous teams will all operate with agents. Many will act without humans in the loop, so we need shared rules and discoverability.
Open coordination
Agent to agent conversations become the nervous system of the web. Open standards and community governance stop any single platform from dictating the terms.
Trust at scale
For billions of agents to interact safely, they must carry recognizable names, reputations, and policies wherever they go. `.agent` is the naming layer that enables it.
The world we are building with `.agent`.
Picture an internet where agents carry clear, recognizable names that work in email, APIs, logs, and contracts. Names that tell you who built them and who's accountable.
Personal roots
lastname.agent with role-based handles that families and professionals actually use day to day.
Company surfaces
company.agent with support, status, and partnership touchpoints customers remember and trust.
Community and cohort hubs
Shared namespaces for alumni, accelerators, clubs, and civic networks that outlast the demo day.
Project and campaign agents
Launch, iterate, and retire agents with names that travel across providers and frameworks.
Cloud and robotic fleets
Coordinated agents managing warehouses, mobility, and robotics with clear, inspectable identities.
Distributed surnames
High-demand roots that distribute trustworthy sub-names so reputation scales instead of fragments.
Why names, not just IDs, matter.
IDs connect machines. Names create relationships and accountability. The agentic web repeats the same pattern we have seen on every platform shift: handles make identity usable and durable.
Early internet → Now
Before
IP addresses connected machines, but humans needed the DNS naming layer to actually use the web.
Future
Agents need human-meaningful handles so reputation, policy, and ownership can travel with them.
Social platforms → Agents
Before
Handles created community norms and accountability.
Future
`.agent` brings the same usability to agent networks so people know who or what they are working with.
Infrastructure changes
Before
Servers, clouds, and org charts shift constantly.
Future
Names persist through migrations so agents remain recognizable and auditable even as hosts change.
How a community wins against infinite budgets.
ICANN doesn\u2019t award top-level domains to the highest bidder. It has a process specifically designed to give communities priority over corporations. The application window opens late April 2026 \u2014 here\u2019s how it works and why your membership matters.
1. Apply to ICANN
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is the global body that governs domain names. To create a new TLD like .agent, you submit an application with a community definition, policy safeguards, financial backing, and technical readiness. The next application window opens in late April 2026 and remains open for 90 days.
2. Community Priority Evaluation
CPE is ICANN’s mechanism for deciding contested TLDs. A third-party expert panel scores applications across four criteria: Community Establishment (organization, engagement, awareness, presence, and longevity), Nexus between the string and the community, Registration Policies, and Community Endorsement. An application needs at least 12 out of 16 points to prevail. This is how a global community beats a single corporation with infinite resources — regardless of budget.
3. Every member counts
CPE evaluators look at the size, diversity, and global reach of the community. With over 3,000 members — 700+ companies and 2,300+ developers — each signup directly strengthens the application. A diverse roster signals that .agent serves a real, worldwide community, not a closed platform.
4. Delegation and launch
Once approved, ICANN conducts pre-delegation testing, then the TLD goes live. Founding members may receive early access windows, subject to ICANN-approved allocation policies.
Help us secure `.agent` for everyone.
Join the community shaping the naming layer for agents. Co-create the standards, tooling, and norms that keep the web open and human-centered.