Michael Riedl

In WP Legends Episode 166, Michael Riedl shares his journey from registering his first domain in 1997 to becoming CEO of Team Internet, the technology company that quietly powers domain registration for GoDaddy, Squarespace, and hosting giants in over 200 countries — timed right as the first new top-level domain application window in 14 years just closed with over 1,600 applicants.

They dig into why trusted digital identity becomes more valuable, not less, as AI agents start doing the browsing and buying, how brands are leaving billions in fraud prevention on the table by not securing their own top-level domains, why Gen Z trusts non-.com domains far more than older generations do, and what Michael would change about the new gTLD application rules if he could.