Explosive growth of .AI-domains

The world of domain names is upside down. New research shows that 368 million domains have now been registered worldwide, more than twice as much as in 2019. The real eye -catcher? The explosive growth of .ai domains. Where artificial intelligence dominates the tech news in the past period, that hype now also translates to the web.

.com still the giant, but the fut is out

Whoever thinks of the internet thinks of .com. With nearly 158 million registrations, it remains by far the largest domain extension. Yet the rack is out. Since 2019, the number of .com domains have grown by less than three percent. That is remarkably little for an extension that was synonymous with growth for years.

According to the research, the battle for short, catchy .com addresses is getting harder and harder. Many companies therefore move into alternatives that fit better with their industry or target group.

AI colors the internet

The opposite happens at .ai. In 2019 there were only a little more than 62 thousand registered domains worldwide. This year the counter is almost 600 thousand. An increase of 862%.

That growth has everything to do with the rise of artificial intelligence. Use startups and tech companies .AI to profile themselves immediately. Even large corporates register extra domains to give their innovations a recognizable place.

“It shows that domain names are more than an address. They are part of the branding,” concludes the report.

Other striking risers

Not only .ai benefits from the new age. Extensions that match e-commerce and technology also show significant growth:

• .store: +673%
• .io: +550%
• .Shop: +364%

In particular .io is interesting. Once especially popular with small developer projects, but now standard in the startup world.

China is growing

The research also shows that the differences between countries are great. In China, the number of .cn domains almost doubled. From 7.6 million in 2019 to more than 21 million now.

According to the researchers, there are several causes. On the one hand, entrepreneurs often opt for international extensions such as .com or .ai. On the other hand, costs and consolidation play a role. Companies that managed dozens of domains are increasingly running there.

Extension figures show the value

Another interesting detail from the study: the percentage of domains that will be extended after a year. At .com and .net it is around 75%. With many new extensions, that percentage is much lower, on average around 34%.

That indicates that the traditional domains still enjoy the most confidence. New TLDs are often tried, but not always retained.

What does this mean for companies?

For entrepreneurs and marketers, the choice of a domain name is becoming increasingly important. Where in the past it was automatically chosen for .com, the positioning of a brand now plays a greater role.

An AI startup with a .ai domain stands out faster with investors. A web store that wants to sell internationally can immediately show what it is all about with .store or shop. Yet a strong .com name remains the most recognizable choice worldwide.

Conclusion

The domain market is clear in transition. Traditional extensions keep their value, but the growth mainly comes from new domains that respond to current trends. .ai is the example of that.