I think the headline is perhaps misleading.
The plunge was still making it one of the ten most sold terms during the month. We don't have actual numbers, but graph suggests maybe a 25% difference between 3rd and 9th place, and this is one month only of data at one marketplace only. Is the difference statistically significant?
Also, as others pointed out, this is about sales of names containing the term AI, NOT about sales in the .ai extension itself.
Finally, this is about sales that specifically include the keyword AI. It says nothing about sales that are made for companies that do AI. As various people have pointed out various times, the vast majority of companies do not as their brand use an exact match to the service or product that they offer.
Imagine if headline was instead:
Amid Continued AI Tidal Wave, Slight Drop In Sold Names Specifically Including AI Term In Single Month's Data at One Marketplace - Results May Not Be Statistically Significant Says Commenter
Not as catchy, true
, but probably better represents situation, imho.
-Bob