Our interview with Andy Booth

Andy Booth has been making waves in the .ai domain name market. Andy has been paying retail prices for some of the best one word .ai domain names around. Andy was kind enough to give me a few minutes and answer some questions about his .ai development plans as well as a few domain investing insights.

Q1) The domain world knows you as one of the top domainers in the world. Those who follow you on Twitter/X know that your new passion is for building businesses on top flight .ai domain names. Why did you decide now was the time to do that?

Thanks for the intro and kind words.

Good question, I would equate it with a surge in energy, the discovery of a topic that resonates with me and having the resources to be able to take a risk with a bigger and more important mission in mind.

Q2) Do you plan to be working on multiple projects at once, or will you build one at a time?

I am trying to stay focused by tackling one project at a time, but it’s in a domainer’s DNA to get excited and buy a ton of great domains at once. Classic case of eyes bigger than belly. But the beauty of owning category-killer domains is that you know the advantage you have from a marketing point of view. It also inspires and helps to get you up in the morning knowing you are working on something that has meaning and purpose.

Q3) You have made it quite clear on Twitter/X that you are focusing on names you are going to develop. What approach would you recommend a domainer not interested in development take with regards to investing in .ai domain names?

It is important to make that distinction. A lot of the time I invest based on domains and subject areas that appeal to me. Also you have to critically think about whether the word or term of the domain has a significant use case in the field of AI. Not all words fit. Needs some thought before committing to a serious buy.

As a basic guide, I try to invest in the top 1% or so of .ai.  So, to answer your question, I would stick to serious or scientific words. Even better would be category-defining words which could be applied to the AI space. Short and highly brandable domains may also work in .ai too (take C.ai or X.ai for example).

Q4) Keeping in the domain investing realm, “How do you think a new investor with $5K to invest should deploy that capital in domain names?”

With $5000, I would probably try to find a one word .ai, a quality .io (for crypto/blockchain related keywords) or a standard generic two-word .com that is obviously saleable.

Q5) Back to .Ai, about 2 months ago Rick Schwartz decided he was going to dip his toe in the .ai pool. Do you think more old school .com domain investors will jump on the .ai train in some capacity?

Old school investors like Rick tend to be good investors, so if they’re seeing the potential and waking up to the fact that AI represents a paradigm shift in the world and society at large, it should give other newcomers some re-assurance. Retail is adopting .ai. It’s a fact. So investing potential and returns should run hand in hand with that.

Q6) What do you say to those who feel that .ai is a fad that will burn out in the next 18 – 24 months where either companies using a .ai will look to upgrade to the .com or rebrand to a different name in .com?

I would rubbish those claims. The term ‘AI’ has been around for over 50 years. Its definition and meaning are not static. The term AI shouldn’t necessarily be assumed. Only technology-related companies that optimize processes through non-human means. It is dynamic and therefore constantly changing, for the good or bad. Right now the connotations are good so if we are talking a 2-year time frame, I have strong conviction that the usage and viability of the term AI will remain.

Q7) The thing about .com is people have had sales and companies run businesses on three and four word .com domain names. Most don’t think that’s feasible for a .ai domain name. What is the max word count you think domain investors should stick to when registering .ai domain names?

I can’t give a specific answer to that. But as a simple rule of thumb, I personally would stick to one word, the shorter the better. Also focus on meaning and application. Really ask yourself if the word or term fits the extension. I would advise people to stay away from longer strings. AI and more so .ai (as it has competition from com and .io) is still relatively niche in terms of the companies on the bleeding edge of tech, so keep quality in mind when you go shopping. Junk strings or combos will probably result in losses to investors.

Follow Andy on Twitter/X @360