The government of Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory, has entered into a partnership with Identity Digital, a domain name registration firm, to oversee the management of Anguilla’s .ai country-level domain. The .ai domain has experienced a significant surge in registrations, increasing fourfold over the past five years, largely driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom.

This spike in registrations can be attributed to the rise of artificial intelligence-focused companies like OpenAI and Anthropic’s Claude. Notably, the Anguillan government itself utilizes the gov.ai domain. The revenue generated from .ai registrations represents a substantial income stream for Anguilla, with recent data indicating that in 2023 alone, these registrations contributed over US$32 million, constituting more than 20% of the government’s total annual revenue.

Identity Digital, known for its work with the Public Interest Registry (PIR) managing domains such as .org, Australia’s .au, and Puerto Rico’s .pr, will now collaborate with Anguilla to ensure the stability, security, and global visibility of the .ai domain. Anguilla’s Premier, Ellis Webster, emphasized the importance of this partnership in safeguarding the integrity of .ai.

In a broader context, the recent transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean from the British government to the Mauritian government has raised discussions about country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) like .io. The .io domain, popular among tech firms and startups, may face changes as the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO) plans to remove the IO country code, potentially leading to the cessation of new .io registrations and the eventual retirement of existing .io domains.

These developments underscore the evolving landscape of domain registrations and the strategic significance of managing country-level domains in the digital era. As technology continues to advance, collaborations between governments and domain registration entities play a crucial role in ensuring the effective administration and utilization of domain names for various purposes, including branding, online presence, and revenue generation.