How many ccTLDs are hosted in their own country?

  

How many ccTLDs are hosted in their own country?

We’re seeing AI in every nook and cranny online, and the realm of top-level domains is no different. The amount of active .ai websites has skyrocketed in the last year, and now they’re everywhere—right? We dive into the data to see what’s really going on in the .ai domain space.


The .ai domain has experienced an unprecedented surge in popularity, with the past few years seeing registrations skyrocket. Initially affiliated with the small Caribbean island of Anguilla, the .ai extension has become a highly sought-after digital asset, largely due to its association with artificial intelligence. Tech companies, startups, and even large corporations have rushed to secure their slice of this internet real estate, making it a go-to choice for AI-related branding. We look into the data to see what’s really behind .ai domains and if the rise is just a hype.


The .AI Domain's Rise
The growing interest in artificial intelligence has elevated the .ai domain from a relatively obscure country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) to a trendy choice for tech companies worldwide. Companies like OpenAI and Stability.ai have embraced the extension, making it synonymous with cutting-edge AI innovation. Just as investors flocked to AI stocks, domain investors have rushed to secure domains .ai, viewing them as the domain market’s next big thing. Eager to capitalize on potential resale opportunities and future value appreciation, they have snapped up as many premium keywords as possible, leading even generic or non-tech terms to be registered with “.ai.”


A Closer Look at Website Trends
While the surge in .ai domain registrations is impressive, the quality and usage of these domains tell a different story. As of October 2024, there are 204,700 active .ai websites, including online stores, blogs, and parked domains. A closer analysis reveals that placeholders and parked domains dominate the landscape, making up 61% of all active sites. Business and e-commerce websites account for 23%, while content-focused sites make up 11%. The remaining share consists of low-content sites, frame sites, forums, and blogs.

Figure 1: Number of active .ai websites over time.
The Rise of Placeholders
To understand the meteoric rise shown in Figure 1, we examined whether the total increase is primarily driven by increased placeholders. 

The influx of parked and placeholder domains comes with drawbacks. For one, it can create a misleading perception of activity within the .ai domain space. Although registration numbers are high, many of these domains do not provide value in terms of content or active use, which can make it harder for genuine startups to find available and relevant domain names. As our previous analysis of .com placeholders showed, many of them have a short lifespan.

Additionally, the practice of domain parking drives up the cost of acquiring .ai domains, as owners of premium domains often set high resale prices. For cash-strapped startups, this presents a significant barrier to obtaining a domain that truly fits their brand.