What is Web 3.0 (Web3)? Definition, guide and history

What if the web could conjure up exactly the information you needed in exactly the format you wanted -- before you knew enough to ask for it?

It would certainly be a much different, maybe even desirable -- if a little creepy -- internet experience. Yet it could someday be the reality of Web 3.0, the next version of the web.

Thanks to the changes that proponents of Web 3.0 claim it will bring, the internet will be much smarter, because artificial intelligence will be ubiquitous. All the world's data will be unified in a so-called Semantic Web. Everyday users will have more say than wealthy corporations about how their personal information is used. Banks will be irrelevant as people exchange digital currencies and records without intermediaries.

Whether Web 3.0 comes to pass, especially in the form currently envisioned, remains an open question. What's clear is that interest in Web 3.0 has never been higher. Enterprises are ready to learn enough about Web 3.0 to decide what actions to take, if any.

This guide provides answers to common questions and has hyperlinks to articles that go into depth about the business opportunities and risks. It also has detailed explanations of key Web 3.0 concepts, such as the effects of decentralization on web governance and data management, and what enterprises can do today to test the Web 3.0 waters.