For the second consecutive quarter sales of .AI domain names have surged — with a quarterly record of $4.5 million in volume in the last quarter (up from $3.48 million in the first quarter of this year) as demand for artificial intelligence-related branding accelerates.
The latest Domain Investment Index from online payments service Escrow.com reflects the embrace of AI. “Two huge tech trends are colliding here: the incredible uptake of AI in business and the realization that domains are the commercial real estate of the Internet,” says Escrow.com chief executive Matt Barrie.
The index also looks at the use of dictionary words in domain names. The data confirms actual words, as opposed to random letters, are more coveted as domain names. The mean value
for a .com domain that is just an English word was $259,325 in the second quarter of 2025.
“For the first time, the data proves what seasoned investors have known for years: dictionary word domains aren’t just names, they’re brands in waiting,” says Barrie. “When a single word can define an industry or idea online, it becomes a scarce asset, and scarcity drives value.”
This underlines the investment potential of a good dictionary word domain name, with some changing hands for millions of dollars. Four digit domains are on the up too, with median prices rising from $20,000 to $92,500.
Although domain sales volume fell 16 percent to $89.9 million in Q2, the beginning of the year has seen a 9.3 percent rise in total domain sales for the first half of 2025 against the same period last year, climbing to $196.85 million.
You can get the full Domain Investment Index from the Escrow.com site.
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