In one embodiment, a domain-name based framework implemented in a digital assistant ecosystem uses domain names as unique identifiers for request types, requesting entities, responders, and target entities embedded in a natural language request. Further, the framework enables interpreting natural language requests according to domain ontologies associated with different responders. A domain ontology operates as a keyword dictionary for a given responder and defines the keywords and corresponding allowable values to be used for request types and request parameters. The domain-name based framework thus enables the digital assistant to interact with any responder that supports a domain ontology to generate precise and complete responses to natural language based requests.