.ai

{{short description|Country code top-level domain for Anguilla}}

{{About|the top-level domain|the .ai file format|Adobe Illustrator Artwork|other uses|Ai (disambiguation)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}{{Infobox Top level domain

| name = .ai

| image = DotAI logo.svg

| introduced = 16 February 1995

| type = Country code top-level domain

| status = Active

| registry = Identity Digital

| sponsor = Government of Anguilla

| intendeduse = Entities connected with Anguilla

| actualuse = Some use in Anguilla; very popular with companies and websites related to artificial intelligence (AI).

| restrictions = None

| structure = Registrations possible at third level, beneath several second-level labels, are available to anybody; second-level registrations are now available to anybody as well (as of 26 June 2006).

| document =

| disputepolicy = UDRP

| dnssec = Yes

| website = {{url|https://www.nic.ai/}}

|registereddomains=572,575

|dateregistereddomains=November 2024

|refregistereddomains={{Cite web|title=FAQ / Terms and Conditions|url=http://whois.ai/faq.html|access-date=2024-12-03|website=whois.ai}}}}

{{Artificial intelligence}}

.ai is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is administered by the government of Anguilla.

It is a popular domain hack with companies and projects related to the artificial intelligence industry (AI).{{Cite news |last1=Purnell |first1=Newley |last2=Olson |first2=Parmy |date=2019-08-14 |title=AI Startup Boom Raises Questions of Exaggerated Tech Savvy |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-startup-boom-raises-questions-of-exaggerated-tech-savvy-11565775004 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190814155021/https://www.wsj.com/articles/ai-startup-boom-raises-questions-of-exaggerated-tech-savvy-11565775004 |archive-date=2019-08-14 |access-date=2020-01-27 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |via=www.wsj.com}}{{Cite web |date=2019-06-12 |title=What's in a Name? Trends in Creating Robot and AI Company Names |url=https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/ai/whats-in-a-name-trends-in-creating-robot-and-ai-company-names/ |website=Robotics Business Review |access-date=2020-01-27 |archive-date=2023-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608073838/https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/ai/whats-in-a-name-trends-in-creating-robot-and-ai-company-names/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-a-tiny-island-is-still-a-domain-name-giant/|title=Why one tiny island is still a domain name giant|first=Liam|last=Tung|website=ZDNet}}

Google's ad targeting treats .ai as a generic top-level domain (gTLD) because "users and website owners frequently see [the domain] as being more generic than country-targeted."{{Cite web |title=Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites |url=https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182192 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005224021/https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182192 |archive-date=5 October 2019 |access-date=5 Oct 2019}}

Identity Digital began managing the domain as of January 2025.{{Cite web |last=Allemann |first=Andrew |date=2025-01-23 |title=Identity Digital is now managing .AI domains. Here's what this means for registrants |url=https://domainnamewire.com/2025/01/23/identity-digital-is-now-managing-ai-domains-heres-what-this-means-for-registrants/ |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=Domain Name Wire |language=en-US}}

Second and third level registrations

Registrations within off.ai, com.ai, net.ai, and org.ai are available worldwide without restriction. From 15 September 2009, second level registrations within .ai are available to everyone worldwide.

Registration

The minimum registration term allowed for a .ai domain is 2 years for registration and 2 years for renewal.{{update inline|date=February 2025|?=yes}} The authority in charge of managing this extension is “WHOIS.AI”. Registrations began on 1995-02-16. The minimum length is 2 and the maximum is 63 characters. There are no requirements for registering a domain, including local and foreign residents.

A .ai domain can be suspended or revoked, if the domain is involved in illegal activity such as violating trademarks or copyrights. Usage must not violate the laws of Anguilla.{{cite news |title=.AI Domain |url=https://domaintyper.com/domain-names/top-level-domains/ccTLD/ai-domain |access-date=2021-10-15 |work=domaintyper.com}}

Anguilla uses the UDRP. Filing a UDRP challenge requires using one of the ICANN Approved Dispute Resolution Service Providers. If the domain is with an ICANN accredited registrar, they should work with the arbitrator. Usually this means either doing nothing or transferring a domain. .ai domains are transferable to any desired registrars as the registration of domain is done maintaining EPP.{{Cite web|title=Whois ai|url=http://whois.ai/eppfaq.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-10|website=whois.ai|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430122125/https://whois.ai/eppfaq.html |archive-date=2020-04-30 }}

The character set supported for .ai domain names include A–Z, a–z, 0–9, and hyphen. As of November 2022, .ai domains cannot accommodate IDN characters.{{Cite web |title=GoDaddy - About .ai Domains |url=https://www.godaddy.com/help/about-ai-domains-32220 |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=www.godaddy.com |language=en}} The auction of expired .ai domains is undertaken every ten days where expired domains can be procured through the auction process.{{Cite web|title=.ai Domain Auctions {{!}} auction.whois.ai|url=https://auction.whois.ai/auctions/index/closed/page:8/sort:close_date/direction:desc|access-date=2021-11-10|website=auction.whois.ai}}{{update inline|date=February 2025}}

Valuation

Domains are $180 for each two-year period.{{update inline|date=February 2025|?=yes}} As of December 2017, the ".ai" registry supports Extensible Provisioning Protocol. Consequently, many registrars are allowed to sell ".ai" domains. Since then, the .ai ccTLD has also been popular with artificial intelligence companies and organizations. Though such trends are primarily seen among new AI based companies or startups, many established AI and Tech companies preferred not to opt for .ai domains. For example, DeepMind has its domain retained at .com; Meta has redirected its facebook.ai domain to ai.meta.com.{{Cite web|last=Chawla|first=Vishal|date=2020-03-08|title=Is .AI Domain Name Extension Any Valuable For AI Startups Or Just A Marketing Ploy?|url=https://analyticsindiamag.com/is-ai-domain-name-extension-any-valuable-for-ai-startups-or-just-a-marketing-ploy/|access-date=2021-11-10|website=Analytics India Magazine|language=en-US}}

As of November 2022, expert.ai is the most valued .ai domain that has been sold. The sell was brokered and mediated by Sedo in June 2020 and was finalized at €95,000 (about US$108,000).{{Cite web|title=Why .AI domain name has become so popular?|url=https://www.nominus.com/en/dm/blog/domain-names/country-domains/october-2021/interest-in-ai-domains-skyrockets|access-date=2021-11-10|website=www.nominus.com}}{{Cite web|date=2020-06-23|title=Expert.ai domain sells for record €95,000|url=https://domainnamewire.com/2020/06/23/expert-ai-domain-sells-for-record-e95000/|access-date=2021-11-10|website=Domain Name Wire {{!}} Domain Name News|language=en-US}}

Impact on Anguilla's economy

The registration fees earned from the .ai domains go to the treasury of Government of Anguilla. As per a New York Times report, in 2018, the total revenue generated out of selling .ai domains was $2.9 million.{{Cite news|last=Lohr|first=Steve|date=2020-02-04|title=Tropical Breezes, Pristine Beaches and a Domain Name to Die For|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/business/custom-urls.html|access-date=2021-11-10|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|last=Lohr|first=Steve|title=Anguilla, with its domain name, cashes in on a quirky trend|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/travel-news/sns-nyt-anguilla-cashes-in-on-quirky-domain-name-20200204-i3q4fohoyre2hmhm2d52rszgqa-story.html|access-date=2021-11-10|website=chicagotribune.com|date=4 February 2020 }}

In 2023, Anguilla’s government made about US$32 million from fees collected for registering .ai domains. That amounted to more than 10% of gross domestic product for the territory.{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Barry |title=The Tiny Caribbean Island That's Making A Fortune From AI |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2024/01/31/the-tiny-caribbean-island-thats-making-a-fortune-from-ai/ |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2024-03-24 |title=AI boom makes millions for unlikely industry player, Anguilla |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/business/ai-boom-makes-millions-for-unlikely-industry-player-anguilla |access-date=2024-03-25 |work=The Straits Times |language=en |issn=0585-3923}}

See also

References

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