.agent one string, 13 would-be registries
AI agents are the round's biggest battleground — 13 applicants, including OpenAI and Meta's registry arm, want the definitive ending for the agent era.
The applications
- Status
- Active — pre-evaluation
- Applicants
- 13 (contended)
- Type
- Community
- Charleston Road Registry Inc.
- ECHO Domain Co L.L.C.
- Elegant Leader Limited
- FireLabs Capital Ltd
- Intercap Registry Inc.
- Internet Land & Cattle LLC
- Ipollo Tech Ltd
- Meta Registry Holdings LLC
- OPENAI OPCO, LLC
- Open Agent Registry, Inc.
- Radix Technologies Inc SEZC
- Rein Check, LLC
- XYZ.COM LLC
This is a community application: if it qualifies for Community Priority Evaluation, it can win the string ahead of standard applicants — and the registry will serve that defined community, which can mean restricted registration.
What contention means for .agent
Only one registry can run .agent. Contended strings are resolved after evaluation: applicants can negotiate or form a joint venture, a qualifying community application takes priority, and whatever is left goes to an ICANN auction of last resort. That process adds months — realistically, a contended string launches later than a clean one, and the winner's pricing and registration rules are unknowable until the contention set closes.
When can you register a .agent domain?
Not yet — .agent does not exist as a registrable extension today. If the application clears every stage, the registry will run a trademark sunrise first, then open general registration. The milestones:
- Reveal Day7 Oct 2026
ICANN published every application: 1,614 primary applications covering 986 different strings from 481 applicants.
- String Confirmation Day17 Nov 2026
After the replacement window, ICANN publishes the final confirmed string list. Strings can still change until this day.
- Community input & objections17 Nov 2026 – 16 Mar 2027
Anyone can comment on an application; formal objections (legal rights, community, public interest) are filed in this window.
- Prioritisation draw & evaluationH1 2027
Applications are evaluated in draw order. Contended strings go to contention resolution — community priority, negotiation, or auction.
- Delegation & public launch2027–2028
Winning registries sign contracts, get delegated into the root, then run sunrise (trademark) and general registration phases.
Other contested strings
Application data: ICANN's official 2026 Round applications export, published for Reveal Day (7 Oct 2026) and pulled 8 Oct 2026. Applicant counts cover primary applications only; strings can still change until String Confirmation Day, 17 Nov 2026, when ICANN publishes the final list — this tracker updates then. An application is not a launch: strings must still pass evaluation, and contended strings must be resolved, before any registration opens.