# DNS for AI Discovery (DNS-AID) vs DNS-Based Agent Naming (DAN)

The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.

[1 Discover](/category/discover/) [DNS for AI Discovery](/protocols/dns-aid/) · [1 Discover](/category/discover/) [DNS-Based Agent Naming](/protocols/dan/)

|  | [DNS for AI Discovery](/protocols/dns-aid/) DNS-AID | [DNS-Based Agent Naming](/protocols/dan/) DAN |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifecycle step | 1 Discover: What is here, and where? | 1 Discover: What is here, and where? |
| Answers | Given a domain, where is its agent endpoint, what protocol does it speak, and how can that be verified via DNSSEC/DANE? | Given a domain, which AI agents does it publish, and how can I locate and cryptographically bind to their service endpoint using DNS alone? |
| Governed by | IETF dnsop working group Internet-Draft (individual submission track, not yet WG-adopted) | IETF Independent Submission (individual draft; not sponsored by a chartered working group; 'dawn' in the draft filename is a keyword, not a working-group name) |
| Status (issuer's words) | Internet-Draft, Standards Track intended status | Active Internet-Draft (individual, -00), Intended status: Standards Track; IESG state 'I-D Exists'; expires 7 December 2026 |
| Version | draft-mozleywilliams-dnsop-dnsaid-02 (2026-05-27) | draft-seethiraju-dawn-dan-00, 5 June 2026 (single published version; no -01 as of 2026-09-07) (2026-06-05) |
| Form / transport | DNS record | DNS record |
| Found at | _index._agents.<domain> (SVCB); _agent-name.<domain> (SVCB) | _agents.<domain> (AIINDEX, TYPE65502); <agent-name>._agents.<domain> (AIDISCA, TYPE65501) |
| Implementation | prototype — Infoblox and GoDaddy joint press release | prototype |
| Evidence | 2 verified, 1 reported | 3 verified |
| Primary use case | Let agents discover my API or service | Name and resolve agents |
| Last verified | 2026-10-23 (current) | 2026-10-23 (current) |
| Specification | [https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-mozleywilliams-dnsop-dnsaid/](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-mozleywilliams-dnsop-dnsaid/) | [https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-seethiraju-dawn-dan/](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-seethiraju-dawn-dan/) |

## When to use which

- Choose DNS for AI Discovery when your question is “Given a domain, where is its agent endpoint, what protocol does it speak, and how can that be verified via DNSSEC/DANE?” and you accept its maturity: status "Internet-Draft, Standards Track intended status", implementation prototype (Infoblox and GoDaddy joint press release).
- Choose DNS-Based Agent Naming when your question is “Given a domain, which AI agents does it publish, and how can I locate and cryptographically bind to their service endpoint using DNS alone?” and you accept its maturity: status "Active Internet-Draft (individual, -00), Intended status: Standards Track; IESG state 'I-D Exists'; expires 7 December 2026", implementation prototype.

Guidance is derived from the two records (question, status, implementation, prerequisites, pairings), not from opinion. Each record's page carries its numbered references.

## Read the full articles

- [DNS for AI Discovery](/protocols/dns-aid/): Given a domain, where is its agent endpoint, what protocol does it speak, and how can that be verified via DNSSEC/DANE?
- [DNS-Based Agent Naming](/protocols/dan/): Given a domain, which AI agents does it publish, and how can I locate and cryptographically bind to their service endpoint using DNS alone?

Ask the MCP server to compare any two: the compare-protocols prompt, or get on both ids. [Connect](/connect/).

[dns-aid.json](/data/protocols/dns-aid.json) · [dan.json](/data/protocols/dan.json) · [Markdown](/compare/dns-aid-vs-dan/index.md)