The New gTLD Program logo for the 2026 round. Image: ICANN.

The new gTLD round is finally out in the open. On October 7, 2026, ICANN published every application for new web address endings, such as .agent, .agi and .claude. It is the first look at a new wave of domain names since 2012.

The headline is easy to spot. AI companies want their own corner of the internet. OpenAI, Meta and Google are all competing for .agent, and many brands want a domain ending with their own name.

I'm Nitin from the Debugged Pro team. We build websites, apps and AI tools for clients in India and the USA, and domain questions land on our desk every week. So here is a plain guide to what ICANN revealed, how long this will take and what your business should do now.

What ICANN Revealed in the New gTLD Round

ICANN is the nonprofit that coordinates the internet's naming system. It calls the publication "Reveal Day." The list went live at 18:00 UTC, which was 11:30 PM in India.

The application window ran from April 30 to August 12, 2026. Here is the data snapshot from ICANN's announcement:

1,615 applications from 481 applicants. One more, for .wdo, is still under administrative review.
333 brand applications, where a company wants an extension for its own name.
16 community-based and 15 geographic name applications.
21 applications for internationalized domain names in non-Latin scripts.
51 applications from groups in ICANN's Applicant Support Program.

By region, North America led with 864 applications. Europe followed with 506, then Asia, Australia and the Pacific with 218. Africa had 16 and Latin America and the Caribbean had 11.

ICANN chief executive Kurtis Lindqvist called it "an important milestone for the next expansion of the Domain Name System." For context, the 2012 round added more than 1,200 new extensions.

Why .agent Is the Most Wanted New gTLD

As The Verge's report on the AI domain rush put it, AI is everywhere in this batch. The most contested string is .agent.

ICANN's contention list shows 13 applications for .agent, according to counts by CircleID and Domain Name Wire. That is more than .agi and .asi put together. The Verge's first count was lower, at ten companies, so expect small changes as the data settles.

Bar chart of the most contested new gTLD strings in ICANN's 2026 round, led by .agent and .lab or .labs with 13 applications each — Most contested strings in the 2026 round. Data: ICANN contention list via CircleID and Domain Name Wire, Oct 7, 2026. Chart: Debugged Pro.

Other popular strings tell you where companies think the web is heading:

.lab and .labs: 13 applications combined, per Domain Name Wire.
.bit: 11 applications.
.api, .brand and .hub: 10 each.
.robot: 9 applications.
.agi and .vibe: 7 each.
.asi: 5 on ICANN's list, as CircleID counted.

One surprise: only five companies applied for .crypto, a name many people expected to be a fierce fight.

What the AI Companies Applied For

The AI labs went after two kinds of names. Some are generic words anyone could use. Others are their own brands.

OpenAI filed 15 applications. Five are brand names: .openai, .chatgpt, .codex, .gpt and .oai. The rest include .agent, .agi, .asi, .mcp, .model, .voice and .skill.
Meta filed 18 primary applications, by CircleID's count, including .facebook, .instagram, .whatsapp, .llama and .superintelligence. The Verge counted 21.
Google, through Charleston Road Registry, filed 39. They include .gemini, .deepmind, .waymo, .agent, .api and .mcp.
Anthropic kept it short with just two: .anthropic and .claude.

Look at .mcp on that list. MCP is the protocol many AI agents use to connect to tools. Both OpenAI and Google want it, which hints that agent tooling may get its own address space.

Dot-Brand Domains: A New gTLD Built Around Your Name

A dot-brand is an extension only one company uses. Think of an address like shop.yourbrand instead of yourbrand.com/shop. Google is one of the few companies that has made this work so far.

This round has applications such as .zoom, .zillow and .bankofamerica. Bluesky applied for .bsky, which The Verge says it may build into user handles.

For most small and mid-sized firms, this is not a realistic option. ICANN's evaluation fee alone is USD 227,000 per application. That is before legal work, technical setup and years of running a registry.

The bigger takeaway for everyone else is simple. Big brands now see their domain as part of their identity, not just a technical detail. That is a good habit to copy, even on a small budget.

New gTLD Timeline: When Could .agent Domains Go Live?

Do not expect to buy a .agent address this year. This is a long, staged process. According to ICANN's official 2026 round milestones, here is what comes next:

Timeline graphic of ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round from the application window in 2026 to evaluation and a prioritization draw in 2027 — Key dates in ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round. Data: ICANN. Graphic: Debugged Pro.

October 8 to 21, 2026: Applicants can switch to a backup string they named earlier, if eligible.
November 17, 2026: String Confirmation Day. ICANN publishes the final list and opens the Community Input and Objections Period.
November 27, 2026: Last day for applicants to withdraw and get a 65% refund of the fee.
About 180 days: ICANN reviews all strings at the same time.
First half of 2027: A prioritization draw sets the order in which applications are processed.

After that come contention fights, contracts and technical tests. A registry must go live within one year of signing its agreement with ICANN. So public sales of the hottest names are likely well over a year away.

Does a New gTLD Help SEO?

This is the question our clients ask first. The short answer is no, not directly.

Google covered this back when the 2012 extensions launched. In its post on how Google handles new top-level domains, Google said its systems treat new gTLDs like .com and .org. Keywords in the extension give no ranking boost or penalty.

So a .agent domain will not rank an AI startup higher on its own. What it can do is make a name shorter and easier to remember. Good content, fast pages and solid links still decide rankings. Our SEO services team sees this pattern every time a client moves domains.

One more point from Google's post matters for India. Country domains like .in can help Google target a local audience. Generic extensions, even ones that sound local, are treated as global. If most of your buyers are in India, a .in or .co.in address still has a clear role.

What Indian and US Businesses Should Do Now

You do not need to spend money today. But a bit of planning now will save you stress later. Here is the checklist we are sharing with clients:

Lock in your core domains. Make sure you own your main .com plus your local version, such as .in for India.
Search the public list. ICANN's application database is open to everyone. Look for strings that match your brand or product names.
Mark November 17 on your calendar. That is when the objection period opens. If a string clashes with your trademark, talk to a lawyer early.
Budget for defensive registrations. In the 2012 round, trademark holders got an early sunrise period to claim names before public sale. Plan a small yearly budget for that.
Watch for scams. Be careful with anyone selling "guaranteed" .agent names now. Nothing can be registered until a registry is approved and launches.
Keep security in mind. More extensions mean more lookalike domains. Train your team to check links, and read our guide to DNS hijacking and domain security risks.

A Simple Example

Say you run a Pune-based firm that builds AI chatbots, with clients in Texas. Today you might own yourfirm.com and yourfirm.in. Once .agent opens, yourfirm.agent could be a neat home for a product demo or an agent endpoint. It would sit next to your main site, not replace it.

That is the sensible way to think about every new gTLD. Add one when it serves a clear purpose. Do not move your whole site for the novelty.

What This Means for Agencies and IT Teams

For agencies, this round creates real client work over the next two years. Clients will ask about brand protection, domain portfolios, redirects and site moves. Some will want small sites or demos on fresh extensions.

A move to a new domain is a full site migration, with redirects, Search Console updates and email changes. Google warns that domain changes take time to process. So pick a domain for the long term and plan it like any other software project. If you need help scoping that, our software development consulting team can map out the steps.

There is also a bigger signal here. When OpenAI and Google apply for .agent and .mcp, they are betting that AI agents will need their own place on the web. That is worth watching if you build agent products.

Key Takeaways

ICANN revealed 1,615 new gTLD applications from 481 applicants on October 7, 2026.
.agent drew 13 applications, including bids from OpenAI, Meta and Google.
Applications are not approvals. Public sales of names like .agent are likely more than a year away.
Each application cost USD 227,000 in evaluation fees, so dot-brands suit large companies.
Google treats new gTLDs like .com for ranking, so the extension alone will not lift your SEO.
Secure your core domains now and watch the objection period that opens on November 17, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a new gTLD?

A gTLD is a generic top-level domain, the part of a web address after the last dot, like .com or .org. A new gTLD is an extension added through ICANN's New gTLD Program. The 2026 round is the first chance to apply for one since 2012.

Can I register a .agent or .agi domain today?

No. The 2026 applications are requests to run these extensions, not approvals. ICANN still has to evaluate them and settle cases where several companies want the same string. The Verge expects nothing official before sometime in 2027, and public sales would come after that.

Who applied for the .agent domain?

ICANN's contention list shows 13 applications for .agent, as counted by CircleID and Domain Name Wire. The applicants include OpenAI, Meta and Google's registry company, Charleston Road Registry, along with domain registry firms such as XYZ.COM and Radix.

Will a .agent domain help my SEO?

Not by itself. Google has said its systems treat new gTLDs like .com and .org, and keywords in the extension give no ranking edge. A short, memorable name can still help people remember and trust your brand, which matters more than the extension.

What should Indian and US businesses do right now?

Secure your main .com or local domain if you have not already. List the new strings that relate to your brand, set a reminder for the objection period that opens on November 17, 2026, and plan a budget for defensive registrations once these extensions open.

About the Author

Nitin Kumar is the Lead Project Coordinator at Debugged Pro. He works with clients in India and the USA on web, mobile and AI projects, from first domain choice to launch. He tracks changes in search, domains and AI tools so clients can plan ahead without wasting budget.