Companies get new window to seek branded internet suffixes

Companies have a new chance to apply for branded internet endings that they would control, a rare opening in the web’s addressing system. The window matters for large brands weighing how to protect identity and customer trust as AI-driven activity and synthetic content expand online.

ICANN, the nonprofit group that coordinates the internet’s domain name system, is accepting applications through Aug. 12 for branded top-level domains, according to its application schedule. The program allows companies to seek suffixes tied to their names, such as .google or .amazon, rather than relying only on conventional domains such as .com.

Phil Lodico, head of GoDaddy Corporate Domains, wrote in a Fortune commentary that the current application round gives corporate leaders another chance to secure a form of digital infrastructure many overlooked the last time ICANN opened the process. ICANN’s previous application round began in 2012, according to the organization.

What a branded suffix gives companies

A branded top-level domain, often called a dotBrand, lets a company govern an entire namespace, Lodico wrote. Under that model, the company controls which web addresses can exist under its suffix and how they are used.

Lodico argued that this could help companies create clearer signals of authenticity online. A bank, for example, could use its suffix only for customer services; a retailer could group shopping, loyalty and support pages under one branded domain; and a manufacturer could place product information, warranties and partner portals in a controlled structure.

The idea is different from registering a normal domain name within a shared system. Lodico wrote that companies have spent years buying domains, monitoring impersonation attempts, defending against misspellings and steering customers toward legitimate websites without controlling the full suffix behind those addresses.

AI raises the stakes for online identity

Lodico tied the renewed interest in branded domains to changes in online behavior driven by artificial intelligence. He wrote that businesses may increasingly interact with AI agents that research products, compare suppliers, book services or handle customer service tasks for users.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has predicted that traditional search will shift toward an “agent manager” model in which AI systems carry out multiple tasks in the background for users, according to Lodico’s commentary. Lodico also pointed to the growing ease of producing synthetic content, fake websites and convincing impersonations at scale.

In that setting, Lodico wrote, companies may need more ways to prove which online destinations are genuine. He said branded domains would not end phishing, fraud or cybersecurity risks, but could become one tool for verification.

Lodico also cautioned that a dotBrand will not fit every company. Some businesses may decide the cost, operational demands or strategic need do not justify an application, he wrote.

His central point was that companies should make that decision deliberately before the window closes. Lodico wrote that another ICANN opportunity may not arrive until well into the next decade.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.