discuss .Ai aftermarket is dead

[J.D.]

There had been a lot of hype about .ai the last two years, and the government of Anguilla made a killing.

Most of this money was provided by domain investors chasing the current thing. A few got in early, hit big, and have been slowly liquidating to a hungry group of domainers ready to buy. But the DeepSeek AI black swan event is a classic case of what pundits have referred to as a Sputnik moment. Listening to numerous takes from subject experts on DeepSeek popping the Ai Bubble, very few saw this Chinese firm backed tech upending USA dominance in the artificial intelligence field.

Oddly enough, China is no.1 in producing the most STEM graduates, followed by India No. 2, and USA at a light-year away distant 3rd. So, we shouldn't be surprised that American exceptionalism was a cover for American arrogance and grifting.

The trickle down effect will come fast and hard to the .ai extension aftermarket.

The music has stopped as Venture Capitalists are panicking after pumping 100s of billions into U.S. Ai startups the last two years. Moreover, they were smoothly sold a false premise: Silicon Valley was far ahead of any other countries on practical Ai and needed 100s of billions to make it work.

FALSE!

Yet, VC world opened those wallets wider than ever chasing the next big thing. Today, the same VCs are scrambling to cancel pending deals.

Companies using Ai or .ai in their online branding will sprint back to the safety of dotcom. Ai extension was a temporary novelty to attract the eyes of VCs but it is no longer a differentiator as nearly every SaaS company has or will have implemented some level of Ai by the end of 2025. They will seek the umbrella and global power of .com.

Two groups of .ai hype artists will be noticed over the next year:
(1) the disappearing hype artist (Success)
(2) the pump and dump Ai artist trying to shed their portfolios on the easily duped (Failure/Bankruptcy)

The upgrade stampede away from .ai to .com has begun.

In the domain game, trends come and go but all roads lead to DotCom.

 

[phaethon]

You are not the 1st nor the last to have been burned on non-dotcom.
It is hard enough to sell quality dotcom in the current diluted marketplace.

Pay close attention to the speed at which (.ai) hucksters circle the wagons to stop the bleeding of value from their portfolios.

Grifters and hucksters are never happy when the fools get un-fooled.

I wasn't exposed that much, bought only 50xyzs, renewed less than half, dropped everything a year ago.. I was new and tried to catch the trend, never again

Catch the trend and don't accept the first offer sounds bs, if you don't hold high value names .

 

[J.D.]

I doubt its even worth a dollar..Mote like totally negative value..

Swetha still sells, got a Xmas gift sale for 100K straight from Negari's marketing department

(.xyz) has always been one of the greatest marketing campaigns in the history of the domain aftermarket.

But the eventual usage by end-users was never notable or backed by statistics. We observe these 'niche manias' every two years. And there are always a handful of early adopters who see good paydays. Its a free market and you can't be upset when you are fleeced because you didn't stick to the fundamentals.

Ultimately, end-user usage is most important to extension value.

At least in the case of (.ai), the extension has a legal-formal meaning and an informal meaning to end-users artificial intelligence. Also, (.ai) registry was a one-man operation until the last month or so with little to no marketing. I can say about .Ai that it was a bubble built on real demand and usage. Unlike, .xyz which is formally and informally meaningless.

.Ai is dead but it still has a future as a formal cctld for Anguilla.
Can't say the same for .xyz.

Proceed with caution when betting the house on non-dotcom.

 

[J.D.]

Oh no, .ai is dead!!!

Thank you, Prophet.

Save your thanks for Q3.
I expect this thread to age so well, the title of Prophet may just apply.

.Ai is dead, and DeepSeek killed it.
Stay tuned...

 

[alcy]

Save your thanks for Q3.
I expect this thread to age so well, the title of Prophet may just apply.

.Ai is dead, and DeepSeek killed it.
Stay tuned...

bro ai or .ai arent dead
deepseek is scam cause china dont show cost receipt

bro u need to lower your ganja dosages

 

[alcy]

Show attachment 269854

(.xyz) has always been one of the greatest marketing campaigns in the history of the domain aftermarket.

But the eventual usage by end-users was never notable or backed by statistics. We observe these 'niche manias' every two years. And there are always a handful of early adopters who see good paydays. Its a free market and you can't be upset when you are fleeced because you didn't stick to the fundamentals.

Ultimately, end-user usage is most important to extension value.

At least in the case of (.ai), the extension has a legal-formal meaning and an informal meaning to end-users artificial intelligence. Also, (.ai) registry was a one-man operation until the last month or so with little to no marketing. I can say about .Ai that it was a bubble built on real demand and usage. Unlike, .xyz which is formally and informally meaningless.

.Ai is dead but it still has a future as a formal cctld for Anguilla.
Can't say the same for .xyz.

Proceed with caution when betting the house on non-dotcom.

yea xyz has amazing marketing
not

the stunt they pulled in 2016 or so during their 1cent promo was best pr ever.. 1000s spent countless hours regging many names especially in that shithole uniregistry and then xyz cancelled all registrations

except they forgot to refund people for the time they wasted on this shit tld

 

[Andreas B.]

Agreed.
It is not as simple as writing a comment bringing attention to an obvious weakness in the .ai aftermarket.

27 January 2025 is a turning point in the need and demand for .Ai extension.
The question the committed .ai seller has to ask:

With the high wholesale prices, high renewals, and drop in end user demand. Why would companies choose my .ai over dotcom?

I don't care about .ai domains but I do care about how they help or hinder dotcom. From 2023-January 2025, .ai hindered dotcom but it will help from this moment forward.

Fact is, its an easy game to talk yourself into believing you hold gold when you are holding coal.
The registries and registrars have been exploiting this tendency for many years.

Ok.

What about .io domains for example?!


They experienced a quite similar evolution; from a standard country TLD to start-up / tech / SaaS' favorite TLD, for many years.

Btw, .ai has a much higher (reported) sale than .io;
$750k for you .ai compared to $230k for mint .io


So, from your standpoint it wouldn't make sense to invest in neither of both, .io nore .ai.


Don't think that many domainers see it this way, as its too lucrative to try others than .com as well.


As a .com maxi, I suppose you only invest in high price / high quality .com domains?!...

Or at least lets say, that would be your preferred philosophy?


Or are you much more that kind of domainer, who tries to specialize on registering new .com (trend) domains?!

[as actually all try, but some do more than only that, others not]

 

[J.D.]

Ok.

What about .io domains for example?!


They experienced a quite similar evolution; from a standard country TLD to start-up / tech / SaaS' favorite TLD, for many years.

Btw, .ai has a much higher (reported) sale than .io;
$750k for you .ai compared to $230k for mint .io


So, from your standpoint it wouldn't make sense to invest in neither of both, .io nore .ai.


Don't think that many domainers see it this way, as its too lucrative to try others than .com as well.


As a .com maxi, I suppose you only invest in high price / high quality .com domains?!...

Or at least lets say, that would be your preferred philosophy?


Or are you much more that kind of domainer, who tries to specialize on registering new .com (trend) domains?!

[as actually all try, but some do more than only that, others not]

I don't tell other Domainers what to invest in or not invest in, its their wallet.
I'm simply recording an opinion that .ai aftermarket died this week.

Both .ai and .io are much better non-dotcom investments than .xyz. As I posted, the key is formal-legal meaning and informal perception among end-users. Both .io and .ai meet that criteria, so if you are going to speculate on non-dotcom they are better than .xyz.

But I'm unsure (.io) will be around 3 years from now as an extension. I'd think forward-thinking advisors would be skeptical of building online empires on (.io). Businesses fear uncertainty.

Like DeepSeek popping the Ai bubble this week and sinking .ai value, .IO experienced its own extinction level event with the political colonial divestment tug of war taking place.

You are correct about my dotcom preference. Because of my buy standards for dotcom, I own less than 300 domains. I don't chase the trends almost always too late to benefit from them.

 

[Andreas B.]

I don't tell other Domainers what to invest in or not invest in, its their wallet.
I'm simply recording an opinion that .ai aftermarket died this week.

Both .ai and .io are much better non-dotcom investments than .xyz. As I posted, the key is formal-legal meaning and informal perception among end-users. Both .io and .ai meet that criteria, so if you are going to speculate on non-dotcom they are better than .xyz.

But I'm unsure (.io) will be around 3 years from now as an extension. I'd think forward-thinking advisors would be skeptical of building online empires on (.io). Businesses fear uncertainty.

Like DeepSeek popping the Ai bubble this week and sinking .ai value, .IO experienced its own extinction level event with the political colonial divestment tug of war taking place.

You are correct about my dotcom preference. Because of my buy standards for dotcom, I own less than 300 domains. I don't chase the trends almost always too late to benefit from them.

Thanks.


Regarding .ai, I think you are underestimating one crucial aspect:
AI as tech takes a stark exponential curve.

That means, that the ai "hype" is not just a hype.
Surely ai will get native to everything.

Still, it'll be world changing like the car.

So, it has its reasons to be spoken out, every now & then.

Including branding.


I personally think, .ai will always be worth more than .io
And regarding io's success story,
.ai has to offer a lot!


I think .io will be a very good tld for the rest of internet time, regarding tech, startup & SaaS.

There are numerous examples of very successful & famous websites, that use .io

 

[J.D.]

Regarding .ai, I think you are underestimating one crucial aspect:
AI as tech takes a stark exponential curve.

That means, that the ai "hype" is not just a hype.
Surely ai will get native to everything.

I think .io will be a very good tld for the rest of internet time, regarding tech, startup & SaaS.

There are numerous examples of very successful & famous websites, that use .io

Ai technology will do exactly what you mentioned as a crucial aspect.

Yet, you and I come to different conclusions about the impact to Ai. I think the exponential curve will tank the value of .Ai because it is no longer scare or unique in the SaaS world. The exponential impact will mean every SaaS company implements Ai tech, specifically Ai agents into their business. This will lead to lower headcounts and layoffs but they'll undermine the uniqueness of of .ai as an extension.

Over the last two years, many SaaS startups used .ai extensions to signal to Venture capital that they were exclusive, unique, and offering something scare.

This led to the biggest early funding rounds we've witnessed in high finance. 5 years ago, if a startup could raise a $25M Series A round, it was considered a long-term winner. Over the last two years, Ai focused startups blew past those numbers exponentially. $100M Series A in 2023 to $1 billion Series A rounds in 2024.

The fundamental reasons for those meteoric funding rounds no longer exist.

I'm confident my argument that the .ai aftermarket is dead will follow from the cratering of Ai tech exclusivity. They were happy to signal PerplexityAi.com or Perplexity.ai in 2024 but they are abandoning ship fleeing to the safety of Perplexity.com, Claude.com, or Grok.com.

The stampedge from .ai to .com has begun.

 

[pbx123]

It's like real estate.

You complete the downtown premium land in a city, prices goes up (akin to .com) and people will start moving to closer territories (.io, .ai) which will gain momentum and then price changes.

 

[Andreas B.]

I'm confident my argument that the .ai aftermarket is dead will follow from the cratering of Ai tech exclusivity. They were happy to signal PerplexityAi.com or Perplexity.ai in 2024 but they are abandoning ship fleeing to the safety of Perplexity.com, Claude.com, or Grok.com.

The stampedge from .ai to .com has begun.

Haha, interesting...

Up to this point, none of them (Claude, Perplexity) has left their .ai domain for a .com !


Start-Ups, New Founders aso. identify themselves very often with new, exotic TLDs, like it was with .io
- and stick to this TLD as well!


OpenSea .io, EtherScan .io ....
- they never changed to any .com!


So, it seems that your argument has been debunked by reality itself, not? : )

 

[J.D.]

Haha, interesting...

Up to this point, none of them (Claude, Perplexity) has left their .ai domain for a .com !


Start-Ups, New Founders aso. identify themselves very often with new, exotic TLDs, like it was with .io
- and stick to this TLD as well!


OpenSea .io, EtherScan .io ....
- they never changed to any .com!


So, it seems that your argument has been debunked by reality itself, not? : )

All those companies bought the dotcom at a much more expensive price.
Most companies aren't going to buy a dotcom and migrate their entire business in a day, week, or month.

But for those with common sense, paying 5, 6, or 7 figures for the dotcom speaks loudest.

I digress.

 

[Sandro.Agency]

vertical applications.
Most of my great sales are .ai and last week was quite good!

 

[alcy]

vertical applications.
Most of my great sales are .ai and last week was quite good!

let me guess.. u wont be sharing any of em

 

[Sandro.Agency]

let me guess.. u wont be sharing any of em

I share them on my X Regularly

 

[alcy]

I share them on my X Regularly

well I'll be damned i thought I was on np

u did too probably

 

[Altetra]

I would say that thanks to AI soon everything will be dead, not just (.ai) but even (.com) and others, that is why think wise from now on if it's worth the hustle of domaining.
edit: only the best of the best will stay afloat. imo

 

[BaileyUK]

We all know the story, The extension has just been over-fished. There's probably just one in several hundred registered that's even usable let alone saleable for even a low amount.

Probably more close to 1 to 10,000 worth a mention in the DM world. These days I'm more aware of AI's targeted world, But that's it 'Targeted and Narrow' As a distinctive badge. If the high spending corporate world start to run with it, then consistent Product placement may well follow. but it's a very big maybe at the moment.

Lets face it, The likes of Microsoft, Google etc, with have in-house AI pretty much tied up with their probably SUPERIOR systems and connectivity, So good luck with all your general market aspirations. The likes of 'Bob.ai' as nice as it is, difficult to explain you've got nothing to do with artificial intelligence

 

[J.D.]

I would say that thanks to AI soon everything will be dead, not just (.ai) but even (.com) and others, that is why think wise from now on if it's worth the hustle of domaining.
edit: only the best of the best will stay afloat. imo

You are closer to the truth than many will admit to themselves.
But most of those people focus more on Domainer-to-Domainer sales.

Many of them don't have a concept of end-user preference and demand.

Agentic tech added to the dilutive power of the next 1K rounds of extensions in 2026 only leaves room for the best dotcom domains. Not sure how people are still focused on building 5K portfolios.

 

[J.D.]

We all know the story, The extension has just been over-fished. There's probably just one in several hundred registered that's even usable let alone saleable for even a low amount.
Lets face it, The likes of Microsoft, Google etc, with have in-house AI pretty much tied up with their probably SUPERIOR systems and connectivity, So good luck with all your general market aspirations. The likes of 'Bob.ai' as nice as it is, difficult to explain you've got nothing to do with artificial intelligence

A lot of true-believers are going to seek therapy after reading: There's probably just one in several hundred registered that's even usable let alone saleable for even a low amount.