Interest in .AI Domains Skyrockets
Table of Content
Record in Sales
What are the Registration Requirements for Registering an . AI Domain?
Are There any Restrictions Against the use of .AI Domains?
What are the Benefits of Registering a .AI Domain?
How Many AI. Domains are Currently Active?
What are the Rules for Using AI Domains?
Who is the Registry that Manages this Domain Extension?
Where can I View the List of Expired Domains that are in Auction?
Anguilla, an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, has suddenly become a hotbed for controversy regarding its domain name. The island is the fortunate beneficiary for internet addresses ending in .ai. .ai is now the popular choice among tech start-ups and entrepreneurs thanks to AI also standing for Artificial Intelligence.
Record in Sales
For years, tech entrepreneurs and companies like Google reserved .ai to make sure no one else could buy the names they wanted for their projects (a practice known as defensive registration).
The price of .ai names has surged, in part because of interest from companies including Amazon.com, Google and Microsoft.
The Amazon subsidiary Amazon Technologies has bought .ai names with obvious choices like amazon-hai.ai but also obscure ones like amazonunveiled.ai and amazonpopup.ai.
Microsoft, which has been buying the suffix .tech as well as .ai names, owns at least five Microsoft-related domains — including microsoftyouth.ai .
Google appears to be buying up dozens of .ai domains — including googlestreetview.ai and googlesearchpage.ai.
In 2020 there was a new record for an .ai domain sale. Sedo brokered the sale of Expert.ai for €95,000 (about $108,000). Showing just how much money this 2 digit extension can be worth!
But given that .ai is supposed to represent the Caribbean Island of Anguilla, is there any risk of using it for a non-Anguillan artificial intelligence start-up? The short answer is no. If you comply with .ai domain policies, you should be fine.
So, if you are thinking of taking a slice of this valuable online real estate here is a list of common Q&As to help you along your way.
What are the Registration Requirements for Registering an . AI Domain?
There are no restrictions; anybody can sign up for them, regardless of where they reside or whether they are a citizen or not.
Are There any Restrictions Against the use of .AI Domains?
No illegal activity is allowed, and no links or redirects should be used that lead to material that may cause damage. This includes using your .ai domain as a link shortener which will take people away from their site. You are not allowed to register a .ai domain name to resell to other entities or individuals.
What are the Benefits of Registering a .AI Domain?
.ai has many benefits for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and established businesses alike including:
- It is short, memorable, and easy to type - it makes your brand more easily recognizable across all channels of communication.
- Brands can use their website domains as added value marketing tools on other platforms such as email, social media, and even branded merchandise.
- It will increase brand memorability and make your brand more recognizable to your target market.
- .AI is a truly global domain extension and therefore provides increased website traffic from all over the world.
How Many AI. Domains are Currently Active?
As of October 2021, there are 110,375 currently active domains.
What is the Minimum Registration Term Allowed?
The minimum term allowed is 2 years for registration and 2 years for renewal.
Can an .AI Domain be Suspended or Revoked?
Yes, if the domain is based on some illegal activity, like violating trademarks or copyrights, it can be suspended or revoked.
Can an .AI Domain be Transferred to Another Registrar?
Yes, since the registration is done under an EPP (extensible provisioning protocol) you can transfer it to any registrar.
What are the Rules for Using AI Domains?
The usage must not violate the laws of Anguilla. Fraud is against the law. You may not use an .ai domain name in connection with business practices that deceive or defraud the public, mislead consumers, violate third-party rights (including intellectual property, privacy, and other personal rights).
Further, they cannot intentionally interfere with the operation of another's business; are contrary to accepted AI community standards; promote activities that Anguilla deems offensive in its sole discretion or are engaged in for commercial gain.
How Long Does it Take for a .AI Domain Name to be Activated?
The usual time is 1-5 days. However, more complex requests can take up to 25 working days.
Does .AI Support IDN Characters?
The .ai Registry is not currently offering IDN characters.
What Characters do .AI Extensions Support?
Currently, the characters supported by his extension are A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and hyphen.
Does this Extension Support Third-Level Domains?
Yes, besides .ai it is possible to register .com.ai, .net.ai, .org.ai, .off.ai domains as well.
What Domains are not Permitted as Second-Level Registrations Under .AI?
No prohibited names are defined in the registration policies. Prohibited names include but are not limited to those that: constitute obscenity, are derogatory, relate to politics, sports, and religion; and the sole purpose of which is to seek to profit from the goodwill associated with a trademark or service mark.
Does the Registry Accept Official Registrars?
Yes, registrars that want to operate as registrars must integrate their services with Whois.AI through EPP, or Extensible Provisioning Protocol, which allows them to add, modify, and delete .ai domain names.
How do I Transfer Domains?
The current registrant should obtain the AUTHCODE and give it to the new applicant so that they may then manage the domain in their account. The domain must also be "unlocked" for a transfer to occur.
Who is the Registry that Manages this Domain Extension?
The authority in charge of managing this extension is whois.ai.
What Happens if I Don’t Renew a Domain?
Any domain that is past due may be deleted. DNS is generally "suspended" for 30 days, but it can also be renewed at the regular rate. There's usually a 60-day period where it's "pending deletion" may be reversed at an additional cost, followed by an auction pool. After the 60-day pending delete period, it enters the auction pool.
Where can I View the List of Expired Domains that are in Auction?
The list can be found here https://auction.whois.ai/ , the auction takes place about every 10 days.
Who Warns From .AI Registration?
Every time a .ai name is registered or renewed — the Caribbean country of Anguilla makes money. The Anguilla government’s Registry of Companies collects an annual fee of about $50 to monitor each .ai name.
