The rapid adoption of generative AI has sparked a debate within the domain name industry. As users increasingly turn to AI assistants instead of traditional search engines, some have questioned whether websites and domain names will become less relevant.

At first glance, the concern seems understandable. If fewer users navigate directly to websites, will organizations still need domain names to reach their audiences? Yet that assumption may overlook another, potentially more important trend.

While AI is changing how people access information online, it’s also lowering barriers to digital entrepreneurship, accelerating online innovation and increasing the importance of trusted digital identities. Rather than reducing the need for domain names, AI may ultimately reinforce their role in the internet ecosystem.

A Familiar Pattern of Technological Change

Predictions about the decline of domain names are not new. The arrival of search engines, social media platforms, mobile applications and marketplace ecosystems all triggered questions about the future relevance of websites and domains. In each case, however, the result was not less online activity but more. New technologies changed user behavior, but they also enabled more people, businesses, services and communities to establish an online presence.

AI may follow a similar trajectory. Recent market data suggests that domain demand remains healthy. Global domain registrations increased from about 364 million in 2024 to nearly 387 million in 2025. While this growth cannot be attributed to AI alone, it does demonstrate that the widespread adoption of AI tools has not coincided with declining demand for digital identities. If anything, AI appears to be creating new opportunities for individuals and organizations to participate in the digital economy.

Lowering the Barriers to Going Online

One of AI’s most immediate effects is its ability to reduce the effort required to launch and manage online projects. Tasks that previously required specialized expertise, including website creation, content development, design work, customer communication and market research, can increasingly be supported by AI-powered tools. At Hello Registry, we see growing evidence that these capabilities are making it easier for entrepreneurs and organizations to establish a professional online presence.

The result is not merely greater efficiency. It’s a reduction in the practical barriers that have traditionally prevented individuals from transforming ideas into businesses, projects or communities. As launching an online venture becomes easier, the potential demand for domains, websites and digital identities may grow accordingly.

More digital ventures, more digital identities

AI is also changing how people work. As automation handles an increasing share of research, administration, marketing and customer service activities, individuals may be able to manage multiple projects simultaneously. A future in which people operate several businesses, brands, communities or online initiatives is becoming increasingly plausible. Whether those initiatives focus on e-commerce, consulting, content creation, software development, education or niche communities, they all require a recognizable presence online.

From this perspective, AI isn’t reducing the need for domain names. Instead, it may increase the number of people capable of creating and sustaining online ventures.

Domain Names as Foundational Internet Infrastructure

The role of domain names may evolve, but their importance as a foundational layer of internet infrastructure remains unchanged. Users already rely on search engines, social media platforms, apps, bookmarks, voice assistants and recommendation systems to reach online destinations. Direct navigation accounts for only part of how people move across the internet.

Yet behind all these interfaces lies a network that still depends on stable and trusted addressing mechanisms. Much like IP addresses, cloud infrastructure, APIs and certificates, domain names provide essential routing and identification functions that enable online services to operate. As user interfaces evolve, the infrastructure underneath them remains indispensable.

AI Agents Will Depend on Trusted Endpoints

One of the most significant developments may be the emergence of AI agents. Unlike traditional users, AI agents are designed to search for information, execute transactions, compare services, interact with applications and communicate directly with online systems on behalf of individuals and organizations.

For these interactions to occur reliably, AI agents need trusted destinations. They need verifiable sources of information, authenticated services and stable endpoints through which they can exchange data. Domain names play a central role in making those connections possible. As machine-to-machine interactions expand, domains may become even more important as globally recognized identifiers that support discovery, trust, authentication and interoperability.

Trust becomes more valuable in an AI-powered internet

Perhaps the strongest argument for the continued relevance of domain names relates to trust. As AI tools generate increasingly large volumes of content, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable information will become more challenging.

This raises a fundamental question: how do users and AI systems determine whether a source is authentic? In an environment saturated with AI-generated content, trusted digital identities become more important, not less. Organizations will continue to need recognizable online homes that establish credibility, demonstrate ownership and provide confidence to users, customers, partners and automated systems alike. Domain names remain one of the clearest and most widely understood expressions of digital identity on the internet.

Looking Ahead

The long-term relationship between AI and domain names is still unfolding, and many uncertainties remain. What appears increasingly clear, however, is that AI is unlikely to eliminate the need for domain names.

AI may fundamentally change how information is discovered, how websites are built and how users interact with online services. It may even reduce the visibility of the domain name in some user journeys. But the underlying need for trusted digital identities, reliable infrastructure and verifiable online destinations is unlikely to disappear. If anything, an internet increasingly shaped by AI may depend on those foundations more than ever.

For registries, registrars and the broader domain name industry, the question is no longer whether AI threatens domain names, but how domain names can continue to provide trust, identity and connectivity in an internet where both humans and machines are becoming active participants.

The application window for the next round of ICANN’s New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program officially closed on August 12 after a 15-week period, with more than 1,600 applications submitted.

However, applicants can continue to select or change their Registry Service Provider before ICANN’s Application Evaluation phase begins.

If you’re reviewing your RSP options for Round 2 and want to learn more about Hello Registry and what we offer, please visit helloregistry.com. You can also sign up for our webinar on Monday, Sept. 28, at 9 p.m. CEST/3 p.m. ET to learn how to launch and grow your TLD. This session includes real customer stories and insights from .kiwi, a gTLD with more than a decade of experience in the domain industry.