About
Agents need names. We are rallying a global community to keep the foundational naming layer human-centered, community-governed, and free from control by any single corporation. 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
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 — calendars, services, robots, and autonomous teams operating with agents, many without a human in the loop at every step.
That only works when the infrastructure they rely on is open, trustworthy, and community-governed. Agent-to-agent conversations are becoming the nervous system of the web. Open standards and community governance stop any single platform from dictating the terms.
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.
Agent-to-agent conversations become the nervous system of the web. Open standards and community governance stop any single platform from dictating the terms.
For billions of agents to interact safely, they must carry recognizable names, reputations, and policies wherever they go. If approved, .agent would be the naming layer that enables it.
Why community
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. ICANN does not award top-level domains to the highest bidder.
It has a process specifically designed to give communities priority over corporations: Community Priority Evaluation (CPE). A third-party panel — Analysys Mason, selected in March 2026 — scores applications across community establishment, nexus with the string, registration policies, and community endorsement. An application needs at least 12 of 16 points to prevail.
The 2026 round is structurally friendlier to community-backed applications than the 2012 round. Private auctions between applicants are prohibited — contention that CPE does not resolve goes to an ICANN auction of last resort, not a deepest-pocket handshake. The Applicant Support Program has been expanded to subsidise fees for qualifying community applicants. The rules still reward capital, but the balance has moved.
The application window opens 30 April 2026 and closes 12 August 2026 — 105 days. Each application costs USD 227,000 and covers the community definition, registration policies, technical plan, financial plan, and endorsement letters.
CPE is ICANN's mechanism for deciding contested TLDs. The 2026 panel is Analysys Mason (selected March 2026). They score applications across four criteria — community establishment, nexus, registration policies, endorsement — on a 16-point scale with redistributed weights of 6 / 4 / 2 / 4. An application needs at least 12 points to prevail.
CPE evaluators look at the size, diversity, and global reach of the community. With over 22,000 members, each signup directly strengthens the application. A diverse roster signals that .agent serves a real, worldwide community, not a closed platform.
Private auctions between applicants are prohibited this round — unresolved contention goes to an ICANN auction of last resort. 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.
A sourced walkthrough of the application lifecycle, CPE scoring, auctions of last resort, fees, and timing — end to end. Start here to understand exactly how a community bid wins.
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.
Just as IP addresses connected machines while DNS gave humans a usable naming layer, agents need human-meaningful handles so reputation, policy, and ownership can travel with them. Names persist through infrastructure migrations so agents remain recognizable and auditable even as hosts change.
What we believe
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 is accountable. This would only be possible if the naming layer is open.
lastname.agent with role-based handles that families and professionals actually use day to day.
company.agent with support, status, and partnership touchpoints customers remember and trust.
Shared namespaces for alumni, accelerators, clubs, and civic networks that outlast the demo day.
Launch, iterate, and retire agents with names that travel across providers and frameworks.
Coordinated agents managing warehouses, mobility, and robotics with clear, inspectable identities.
High-demand roots that distribute trustworthy sub-names so reputation scales instead of fragments.
Team
Engineers, researchers, and operators from across the agentic web — plus advisers who have navigated prior ICANN rounds. Community governance is only credible if the community is real and named.
Why join
We are building a global hub for AI innovation — open standards, open-source tools, and a community-led ICANN application for .agent. Here is why joining matters for your work.
Hands-on with the AID spec for agent discovery, including SDKs in TypeScript, Go, Python, and more. Connect with global peers through working groups and co-author standards. Link students to internships and roles with member companies.
Collaborate in a vendor-neutral hub for secure inter-agent interactions. Scout agent-savvy talent from labs and developers through events and forums. Build credibility through endorsements and gain visibility for partnerships.
Pre-register your preferred .agent domains, subject to ICANN-approved allocation policies. Access tools and contribute to open-source projects. Build skills through hackathons, webinars, and peer networks.
Members who join before the ICANN application is filed may be recognized as founding supporters in public filings, community events, and official documentation. Your membership directly strengthens the community application score.
Hackathon sponsorships
.agent domain credits for standout hackathon projects, helping participants build and launch their portfolios — if approved by ICANN.
Member introductions
Get connected to researchers, developers, and industry partners across the community for collaborative opportunities.
Co-host webinars
Partner with us to organize webinars on agentic AI topics, sharing knowledge and expanding your reach in the community.
Newsletter features
Showcase your research, projects, or achievements in the Agent Brief newsletter to a global audience of builders.
Free. Non-binding. First in line when the namespace opens, subject to ICANN approval.