How can domestic users register a .ai domain name?

1. Overview of .ai Domain

2. Reasons Why Enterprises Prefer .ai Domains

1. Built-in AI Identity with High Recognition

    

   Standing for Artificial Intelligence, the .ai suffix instantly identifies a business as a tech or AI-focused company. Just as .com represents commerce and .org stands for non-profit organizations, .ai has become a distinctive industry tag that simplifies public perception.

    

   Notable examples: tongyi.ai, huawei.ai, Character.ai, Runway.ai, widely adopted by leading global AI projects.
    
2. Abundant Quality Resources While .com Is Nearly Depleted

    

   Most premium short and meaningful .com domain names have been registered after decades of development, usually costing a premium to acquire.

    

   Launched later, .ai still boasts numerous valuable short names and industry keywords, enabling businesses to obtain brand-matching domains at lower costs.

    

   Premium transactions: Bot.ai ($1.2 million), Lotus.ai ($400,000), AI.com ($70 million), reflecting growing value driven by scarcity.
    
3. Global Availability Without Registration Restrictions for Overseas Expansion

    

   Though categorized as a national domain, .ai is open to global registration with no local qualification or residency requirements.

    

   The universally acknowledged term AI breaks language barriers, ideal for international branding, overseas SaaS and cross-border AI services. Major search engines treat .ai as a generic top-level domain, delivering favorable SEO performance and global traffic acquisition.
    
4. High Brand Premium and Investment Value

    

   AI remains a core growth sector for the next decade, making .ai domains valuable digital assets for practical use and investment.

    

   In 2025, the total trading volume of .ai domains reached $27.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 189%. Over 60% of the world’s top 50 AI startups use .ai for official websites. Many enterprises register both .com and .ai domains to protect brands and seize AI market opportunities.
    
5. Improved Business Conversion and Investor Recognition

    

   For AI and tech firms, .ai domains enhance professional credibility and boost persuasion in financing and business cooperation. A natural language processing startup reported a 25% rise in initial investor engagement after switching to a .ai domain.

    

   Traditional industries including finance, healthcare, education and manufacturing also adopt .ai domains to deploy AI businesses and demonstrate innovation capacity.
    

3. Key Notes on .ai Domain Registration & Usage

1. Pricing

    

   .ai domains are priced higher than conventional suffixes. The first-year registration fee ranges from RMB 1,500 to 2,000, and renewal fees stand between RMB 1,800 and 2,500, varying across registrars.
    
2. Filing Regulation

    

   .ai domains are not yet included in China’s MIIT filing list. Websites hosted on domestic servers cannot complete ICP filing, hence overseas servers are recommended. Businesses targeting domestic users are advised to adopt a dual-domain strategy with a filed .com domain.
    
3. Registration Channels for Domestic Users

    

   Register via international platforms such as 22net.com.
    
4. Registration Rules

    

   Open to individuals and enterprises with no qualification limits. Minimum registration term is 2 years. Apply through ICANN-accredited official registrars to avoid security risks.
    
5. SEO Optimization

    

   .ai domains follow the same search engine indexing rules as .com domains. Website content quality, loading speed and user experience remain core optimization factors. Choose registrars with stable DNS resolution for efficient crawling, and optimize keyword relevance to lift AI-related search rankings.