The internet may be about to get a new batch of endings. ICANN has published the applications from its 2026 expansion round, and the list shows how aggressively technology companies are trying to secure new top-level domains for an AI-heavy future.
The Verge reports that 1,615 applications came from 481 applicants, with AI-related strings including .agent, .agi, .asi and .intelligence among the most notable. OpenAI submitted 15 applications and Meta submitted 21.
The Part After the Dot Is Up for Grabs Again
A top-level domain is the final part of an internet address — the .com, .org or .net at the end. BitcoinVersus.Tech recently explained the chain from a typed web address through DNS resolution and the browser; a new top-level domain changes the highest public naming layer that process starts from.
ICANN’s public application system now exposes the submitted strings, applicants and application status. The program is the first major opening for new generic top-level domains in more than a decade.
AI Companies Want More Than Apps and Models
For OpenAI, a dedicated string could eventually create addresses controlled at the registry level rather than simply buying another name under .com. That fits a company already expanding from models into always-on AI agents, custom silicon and broader software infrastructure.
Meta is moving in the same direction from another angle. The company has been pushing AI deeper into software, social platforms and even DIY hardware. Owning a branded or generic top-level domain could give a company more control over identity, naming and trust as AI services multiply.
A Domain Can Become Infrastructure, Not Just Branding
Owning a top-level domain does not automatically mean selling addresses to the public. A company can keep a namespace restricted for its own products, employees or services. That could matter for authentication and security, especially as the web relies on HTTPS and TLS certificates to prove that a website is actually the system it claims to be.
It also opens a more interesting possibility for AI agents. Instead of every service living under a conventional company domain, future agent ecosystems could use dedicated namespaces for identities, endpoints and applications. That would make the naming system itself part of the browser-based AI-agent economy.
Most of These Names Are Still Applications
The biggest caveat is simple: an application is not an approved domain. ICANN still has to evaluate strings, handle conflicts and objections, and work through cases where multiple organizations want the same or confusingly similar names.
But the application list is already a snapshot of where companies think the internet is going. A decade ago, branded domains were mostly a marketing and identity experiment. In 2026, names like .agent and .agi are being pursued while AI agents are becoming operational software rather than research demos.
The next land rush on the web may not be for websites at all. It may be for the right to define the names under which entire classes of AI services live.
BitcoinVersus.Tech
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