According to Gartner, worldwide spending on artificial intelligence (AI) software will increase almost 19.1% every year from 2023 to 2027. It expects the global AI software market to be worth about $300 billion in 2027.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to enter the AI ecosystem, this is great news. With its double-digit growth, AI offers you tons of possibilities to carve a place for your startup and develop your brand.
However, as in every other business space, you must make your company appear comparable to or better than competitors to land customers. While there are several ways to do so, the starting point is always your brand identity — brand name, domain name and logo.
When it comes to artificial intelligence niches, you can often convey your business’s focus with a .ai domain. That said, there are pros and cons to using a .ai domain.
Read on to explore more about the .ai domain, the pros and cons of using it, who should consider this domain and how to register it.
What is the .ai domain?
While commonly known as a domain for artificial intelligence, .ai is actually a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla, a British Overseas territory in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
Despite being a ccTLD, .ai domains have seen widespread adoption among businesses involved in the AI sphere. Netcraft shares that the number of websites using a .ai domain increased from 913 to 115,245 from 2013 to 2023.
Are there any restrictions for .ai domains?
While .ai is a ccTLD for Anguilla, you don’t need a presence there to register a .ai domain. In comparison, you can only buy a .us domain if you’re an individual, business or entity with a presence in the United States.
That said, you’ll need to follow Anguillan laws to keep using the .ai domain name without running into any issues.
Is .ai better than .io?
While artificial intelligence is the future, tech companies don’t need to get a .ai domain to appear relevant and improve their online presence. Instead, if your tech company doesn’t have anything to do with AI, you’re better off with .io — a popular, tech-savvy option for software startups.
Benefits of .ai domains
If you’re an entrepreneur looking to invest in artificial intelligence, opting for a .ai domain offers several benefits:
Higher business relevance
When customers hear “keyword.ai,” they instantly think of an artificial intelligence solution around that keyword.
For example, consider BuzzBoard, an AI-based business intelligence software. When you hear the name, it doesn’t convey much. But add .ai to get buzzboard.ai, and visitors instantly know that it’s an AI-based software tool.
In other words, if a website uses a .ai domain, it’s an immediate indicator that the website is related to artificial intelligence. As a result, it attracts customers interested in AI, conveys a sense of AI expertise and helps you appear as an AI-focused brand.
Improved search engine presence
Search engines typically deal with ccTLDs differently than gTLDs (generic top-level domains). They consider ccTLDs relevant for a local audience and gTLDs for a global audience.
That said, according to John Mueller, senior search analyst at Google, Google considers the .ai domain a gTLD. As a result, it doesn’t limit the global reach of your website. Instead, due to the widespread adoption of the .ai domain by websites relevant to artificial intelligence, you might have an edge over websites that aren’t using it when ranking for AI-related keywords.
In short, a .ai domain name might help with SEO (search engine optimization) if you’re targeting the AI niche.
Easier availability
At the time of writing, 45.8% of websites use the .com domain. In contrast, .ai is used by only 0.1% of websites. Due to this tremendous gap, you’ll find relevant domain names with a .ai TLD more easily without having to compromise.
For example, suppose you want to create a website for home cooks, helping them with tasty recipes, buying guides and top recommendations. But if you want a relevant website, homecooks.com is unavailable. But you can take the homecooks.ai domain name.
Challenges of .ai domains
While opting for a .ai domain lets you announce your AI-based business to the world, there are a few challenges you should know of before you make the decision.
High expenses
Usually, .ai domains are more expensive — even more so than .com domains.
For instance, you might be able to grab a .com, .net or .org domain name for less than $20 from most registrars. In fact, with Bluehost, you can register a .com domain for as low as $12.99/year. But a .ai domain often costs upwards of $100.
The reason? The Government of Anguilla sets the base price of .ai domains, which is higher than that of other generic TLDs.
Tidbit: Anguilla is expected to have earned close to $30 million in domain registration fees in 2023.
If you don’t want to spend $100 on acquiring a .ai domain name, consider opting for other popular domain extensions that can offer more value for your money.
Loss of traffic
While a .ai domain can be more expensive, it doesn’t guarantee more traffic than a .com domain. In fact, the opposite can be true because of the high prevalence of .com domains.
According to the latest GrowthBadger study, people are 3.8 times more likely to use a domain name with .com when remembering a website than any other domain name extension. In other words, you risk losing a substantial amount of prospects by using .ai instead of .com.
That said, if you’re after a .ai domain name for higher brand recognition as an AI-focused business, you might still be better off with a .ai TLD. To avoid losing traffic to the .com variation, you can always use domain forwarding to redirect customers to your main website.
For example, while Microsoft doesn’t directly use the Microsoft.ai domain name, it redirects all the traffic coming from that domain address to its landing page for Microsoft AI.
Legal considerations
Since .ai domains originate from Anguilla, they’re subject to the laws and regulations of Anguilla.
Besides trademark issues, Anguilla can suspend a domain name involved in phishing, hate speech and copyright violations.
If you’re looking to grow your AI business, it’s likely you won’t be performing any of those illegal activities. That said, as with everything involving law, you should consult with a lawyer who can help you read the fine print to avoid any unexpected issues later on.
Who should use a .ai domain?
Despite these challenges, a .ai domain is the best option if you’re looking to create a business in an artificial intelligence niche, including:
AI-focused businesses
AI-focused businesses include those focused on developing, deploying and utilizing artificial intelligence technologies to provide services to other companies. For instance, you may be helping other companies train their machine-learning models, improve their gathered data or build their AI platforms.
For example, Fiddler (fiddler.ai) helps Fortune 500 companies during AI development by offering a standardized platform for monitoring and analyzing their AI models.
AI-based web apps
AI-based web apps refer to websites running applications based on artificial intelligence. It can be a chatbot responding to users’ queries or a browser app creating graphics based on prompts.
Examples include Resumaker.ai (resumaker.ai), Perplexity, (perplexity.ai) and Open AI (open.ai).
AI-focused course platforms
A .ai domain also suits a website that offers AI-specific courses. It instantly lets the students know that the website has expertise in the artificial intelligence domain.
A popular example of a course platform using the .ai domain is DeepLearning.AI (deeplearning.ai).
AI aggregators
Alternatively, you can also opt for the .ai domain if you’re looking to aggregate news, services or tools in the AI niche via your website.
An example is Toolify AI (toolify.ai), an aggregating website of AI websites and tools.
AI-focused blogs
Last but not least, a .ai domain name also suits a blog website that covers the latest developments in the AI niche. By using a .ai domain, it positions itself as an expert in the AI ecosystem.
For instance, Unite.AI (unite.ai) is a great blog that covers news related to AI.
How to register a .ai domain
Once you know that you need a .ai domain, registering it is straightforward.
- Select a domain registrar: Find a reputable domain registrar that offers a lot of domain options and lets you register a .ai domain. If you’re looking for a reputable domain register, Bluehost isn’t just a great website hosting option — it also lets you register domain names.
- Check availability: Use the search function to see if your desired domain name is available. If it’s unavailable, check your other domain name options.
- Buy the domain name: Once you have found the domain name, complete the registration process by creating an account with the registrar and paying the registration fee.
While registering for your .ai domain, you might also benefit from getting the following add-ons:
- Domain privacy: Also called WHOIS privacy, domain privacy lets you avoid adding your personal information to the WHOIS database. Instead, the host adds its own information, saving you from a lot of spam.
- Web hosting: By getting web hosting from the domain registrar, you can avoid many complicated configurations. Instead of worrying about setting up Domain Name System (DNS) records, you can start working on your website. With Bluehost, you can get both domain and web hosting at affordable prices.
Final thoughts: What is a .ai domain name? Bluehost’s guide for business owners
Using a .ai domain name for your business is a great way to enter the contemporary AI industry without looking like an outsider. It conveys your expertise in the niche without requiring much work from you.
Still, getting your domain name is just the start. If you’re looking to build your website from scratch, you’ll need a helpful partner that answers your questions, offers relevant services and enables you to grow your website from the ground up.
If you’re looking for such a partner, consider Bluehost’s web hosting plans. We offer a variety of fast and reliable hosting solutions, 24/7 expert support and trusted domain registration services.
