Google applies for 39 top level domain names: .agent, .waymo & more

Google has applied for 39 top-level domains in ICANN’s 2026 expansion round. The applications show where the company sees value in the namespace, and which new domains may become available to registrants.

Google’s 39 applications are far fewer than the 101 it filed in 2012. Its open registries from that round, .app and .dev, are among its most successful, and it paid $25 million at auction to win .app.

About half of the new applications are dot-brand strings such as .alphabet, .chromebook, .pixel and .waymo. Dot-brand registries are typically closed: the company uses them for its own products and does not sell registrations to the public. For domain holders, those applications are unlikely to create new registration options.

The open applications include .agent, .api, .ask, .find, .gemini and .maps. Some will be contested. .agent already has 13 applicants, including OpenAI and Meta. When multiple parties apply for the same string, ICANN’s process usually sends the contention to auction, so the eventual winner pays a price that reflects the competition.

Contested applications matter to buyers because the winner may set pricing to recover auction costs. They can also delay the launch of a new TLD while the contention is resolved.

The 2026 round is still early. ICANN must evaluate the applications, and some may face objections or be withdrawn. What is unknown is which strings will proceed, which will go to auction, and how Google will operate its open TLDs if approved.

Existing domain holders should watch the new gTLDs for defensive registration needs and for new spaces that could compete with current names. Dot-brand applications are less relevant to the secondary market, but open strings such as .agent could become part of the namespace.