ICANN's 2026 gTLD round: AI labs bid for .agent, .agi, .asi and .mcp

Why it matters

【Key points】

On Oct 7 ICANN revealed applications for its 2026 new gTLD round, the first since 2012: 1,615 applications from 481 applicants. AI companies applied not just for brand suffixes but for generic terms. By CircleID's count of the public data, .agent drew 13 applicants, more than .agi (7) and .asi (5) combined; OpenAI, Meta and Google's Charleston Road Registry are among them.

【Verifiable】

ICANN release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/icann-reveals-applications-for-2026-round-of-new-generic-top-level-domains-302900662.html ; CircleID tally: https://circleid.com/posts/openai-meta-and-registry-operators-seek-new-gtlds-as-.agent-draws-13-applications .

Primary applications per CircleID: OpenAI 15, including .openai, .chatgpt, .codex, .gpt, .agent, .agi, .asi, .mcp, .model, .voice, .evals and .skill; Meta 18, including .llama, .metaai and .superintelligence; Charleston Road Registry (Google) 39, including .gemini, .deepmind, .agent, .api, .intelligence and .mcp; Anthropic two, .anthropic and .claude.

These are applications, not live domains. Applicants may switch to replacement strings Oct 8–21; String Confirmation Day on Nov 17 opens comments and objections; evaluation, contention resolution (agreement or auction), contracting and delegation follow.

【Our read】

1. Brand suffixes are mostly defensive. The generic picks are the signal: OpenAI and Google both applied for .mcp, treating agent tool-calling as a namespace worth claiming.

2. .agent is the most crowded AI string, but winning it won't mean owning agent identity. How agents authenticate and get discovered will be decided by protocols and platforms, not suffixes.

3. Anthropic's two brand-only applications stand out against rivals' land grab: restraint, or a bet that the domain layer isn't where this competition happens.