The Simple Plan and Phase 3 of the real human network

From proof of human to real-world utility

More than six years ago, World was founded on the premise that AGI would change the world and that we needed infrastructure to ensure that the paradigm shift brought by AI benefits every human.

The accelerating capabilities of AI agents create an existential challenge for the integrity of digital interaction and the stability of our society. The need for proof of human technology has never been clearer and World was built to empower people and maximize human agency in a world with advanced AI. It encompasses a private proof of human along with financial tools (World App), proof of human infrastructure (World ID), and the proof of human app (World ID App). To date, World has issued more than 18 million human credentials and enabled more than 450 million uses of World ID globally.

The Simple Plan

Since its founding, World has been guided by a framework, “The Simple Plan.” While the internet has been transformed by AI, the five phases have remained:

Phase 1: Build a private proof of human

Over the last several years, World designed, engineered, and deployed World ID, a private proof of human protocol built on privacy-first and data-minimization principles. The protocol is now in its fourth generation and delivers expanded support and capabilities designed for use across the full stack of enterprise systems, consumer platforms, and agentic workflows.

Complementing the protocol upgrade is World ID App which serves as a single place where individuals can manage their proof of human across apps, services, and AI-centered experiences. The new app allows people to carry and use proof of human across the internet and powers a growing range of human-first digital experiences.

Phase 2: Launch and bootstrap the network through token ownership

To bootstrap the real human network, World launched WLD, a token that supports participation and long-term alignment across the ecosystem. Since launch, approximately 16 million individuals who have verified their World ID have claimed WLD. Together, eligible individuals have received more than 900 million WLD (in user grants and referral rewards) through their participation in World network.

Phase 3: Reach critical scale and initial utility

World is now entering Phase 3 of The Simple Plan.

Two forces are simultaneously driving World into Phase 3. The first is the rapid emergence of sophisticated AI systems and agents. The second is the release of World ID 4.0, an enterprise-ready infrastructure capable of supporting high-scale deployments and integrations. Phase 3 also transitions growth from token-based incentives to utility-driven growth. This reshapes how the network is built and scaled as well as the teams required to make it happen.

Building utility for the real human network

Private proof of human is becoming essential infrastructure for the internet as AI systems advance.

World is focused on bringing proof of human utility across three key areas: enterprises, people, and AI agents. In each of these areas, World is already working with category leaders.

To accelerate adoption, the network's talent requirements are evolving and World is building dedicated teams that reflect the opportunity and need ahead. This includes establishing a partnerships and integrations team focused on the three areas where proof of human is essential: enterprises, people, and AI agents. It also includes creating a commercial team focused on bringing proof of human-based products like Deep Face to the organizations that need them.

World ID for enterprises

Organizations already invest heavily in cybersecurity and access infrastructure. Existing systems can verify credentials, permissions, and behavioral patterns, but they often cannot answer a more fundamental question: is the human on the other side of the interaction really the human you expect them to be? Or are they being impersonated? World ID helps solve that challenge. By integrating proof of human technology such as World’s Deep Face product into enterprise systems, organizations can introduce an additional layer of trust for sensitive digital interactions.

Through its work with Zoom, Docusign, and Outtake, World’s proof of human is bringing trust to live communication, document signing, and digital interactions where verifying a real human matters most.

These capabilities are increasingly critical as AI-generated impersonation, fraud, and synthetic identity attacks continue to rise. In 2025, more than half of organizations reported financial losses from deepfake or AI voice fraud, with average losses exceeding $280,000 per incident and nearly one in five losing $500,000 or more. Deloitte projects fraud losses facilitated by generative AI in the United States alone will climb from $12.3 billion in 2023 to $40 billion by 2027.

World ID for people

Trust across many of the online services people use every day is deteriorating. World is focusing on bringing proof of human to platforms and services where authenticity and fairness are critical, including dating, gaming, and event ticketing.

Through its partnership with Tinder, World provides users with a private way to confirm there is a real human behind a profile. The integration is now available and represents one of the first large-scale consumer implementations of proof of human technology.

World also recently introduced Concert Kit, a new tool powered by World ID, that helps artists reserve tickets specifically for verified humans. Concert Kit addresses one of the most persistent frustrations in live entertainment: bots purchasing tickets before fans have a fair opportunity to access them. Artists are already committing to piloting Concert Kit. Thirty Seconds to Mars will reserve a portion of tickets for verified humans on their upcoming 2027 tour.

Meanwhile, consumer platforms such as Reddit signaled interest in exploring privacy-first proof of human options, including World ID, for accounts flagged as automated.

World ID for agents

The internet is rapidly shifting from human-driven to agent-driven activity with traffic from AI agents and agentic browsers growing 7,851% year over year in 2025, according to an analysis of more than a quadrillion online interactions. These AI agents are blurring the line between legitimate and malicious web traffic. Agents can now act on behalf of users through the same interfaces as humans, browsing websites, executing workflows, completing purchases, and interacting with digital systems on behalf of people.

The internet’s trust infrastructure wasn't designed for this reality. To address this shift, World introduced AgentKit, which expands proof of human into agentic workflows through three core capabilities: agent delegation, human-in-the-loop verification, and agentic commerce. Together, these primitives allow developers to build systems where agents can operate on behalf of verified humans, request verifiable human approval for sensitive actions, and establish new trust standards for online interactions.

World and the team at Tools for Humanity are working with organizations including Okta, Vercel, Shopify, Coinbase, Exa, and Browserbase to explore how proof of human can support the next generation of AI-powered systems.

Shift to utility-based growth

As utility across the network increases, World is evolving its growth model to prioritize real-world utility and ecosystem participation. In the early stages of the network, token incentives played an important role in helping bootstrap adoption and participation. Going forward, World’s growth model will rely primarily on the utility from the products, services, and experiences powered by World ID.

For example, eligible users with a verified World ID may now receive rewards such as Tinder Boosts or access to exclusive experiences enabled through partners and integrations across the ecosystem.

Refining the operational footprint around utility and density

As World enters Phase 3 of The Simple Plan, the network’s operational footprint is changing to support areas where utility is strongest. This means focusing operations on a core set of countries where proof of human products and services already show strong early adoption. Deployments will prioritize density, enterprise integrations, and high-utility environments over geographic reach.

In the United States, that means focusing on San Francisco and New York. San Francisco brings the technology adopters who shape what comes next online. New York brings the financial institutions and consumer brands where proof of human creates immediate utility through products like Deep Face and Concert Kit. Outside of the United States, that means focusing on the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. The approach is to build density in a few cities first, prove the experience, and scale outward from there.

Alongside this geographic focus, the hardware and deployment methods are evolving. The next generation of Orbs will be self-serve and available in new form factors, with some placed directly inside partner businesses. World aims to have 95% of all Orbs operating under a self-serve model by the end of 2026. The self-serve model increases efficiency and allows the project to scale more rapidly. World also continues development of a new form factor that is designed to improve portability, lower unit cost, and increase scalability.

As part of this transition, and to ensure efficient use of resources, World and supporting organizations will reduce its physical operations footprint outside of the focus countries. These changes will affect members of the global operational workforce, along with teams that support those operations. Their work helped build the World network from its earliest stages and enabled proof of human to reach tens of millions of people around the world. We are deeply grateful for their contributions.

World ID fees and protocol revenue

World ID 4.0 allows credential issuers and the World protocol to monetize the use of proof of human technologies via World ID fees. Specifically, the expected model would have applications using World ID paying fees, while keeping protocol usage free for end-users.

The most imminent monetization opportunity is the enterprise security use-case. Announcements at Lift Off with Zoom, Okta, and Docusign made clear that enterprises have strong demand for high-assurance proof of human. With deepfake technology becoming widely available and causing large losses to affected companies, technologies like World ID and Deep Face are becoming critical tools for enterprises to enhance their security. Zoom is the frontrunner in this space, as it has already partnered with the World project to offer integration of World ID’s Deep Face technology directly into its meetings product. Over the next 6 months, Zoom is expected to enable enterprises to use Deep Face via Zoom’s ISV platform. This already presents a tremendous opportunity for initial World ID fee generation.

Beyond the enterprise security use-case, World ID is applicable in other industries that suffer from bots, fake accounts, and fraud at scale. This includes social media, dating, ticketing, gaming, advertising and creator economies, AI agents and generative AI, e-commerce, banking and payments, blockchain, government services, gig economy, and travel and hospitality. These industries generate trillions of dollars in annual revenue, offering significant revenue potential from World ID fees in the long-run.

Phase 4: Scale further through utility and decentralize

As utility and adoption continue to expand, governance, infrastructure, and ecosystem participation will move toward even broader community ownership and participation.

Decentralization continues as a focus, since proof of human can only serve as trusted infrastructure for people, enterprises, and governments if it relies on no single party. World is moving to open source more of the protocol so developers and credential issuers can build on it independently.

Phase 5: Reach global scale and help ensure AGI benefits every human

The final phase of The Simple Plan remains: helping ensure the benefits of powerful AI systems can reach every human. As AI transforms the whole economy, proof of human will become increasingly important infrastructure for preserving trust, enabling participation, and distinguishing humans in a world of abundant intelligence.

Each phase of The Simple Plan sets up the next.

The real human network

Experiences work better when you know a real human is involved. The real human network now spans more than 18 million verified humans and has enabled more than 450 million uses of World ID. With World ID, expanding enterprise and consumer integrations, and growing support for agentic systems, proof of human is becoming foundational infrastructure for the next era of the internet.

For more information about World ID, visit the World ID page, developer docs, and World whitepaper.