Anguilla opens .ai domain registration to non-Latin script writing systems

The government has approved 32 new .ai domain formats, allowing people to register web addresses using characters from writing systems such as Arabic and Japanese.

The move aims to attract new customers and increase registration revenue by making Anguilla’s country-code top-level domain accessible to a wider global market.

Information technology minister Jose Vanterpool announced the development in a government press conference on 12 October, saying approval was given two weeks ago.

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“We recognise that technology is constantly evolving, and it would be irresponsible of us to suggest that any source of revenue is entirely immune to changes in global trends,” he said.

“Which is why we continue to explore alternative markets and ways in which to further leverage our domain and the revenue that we gather from it.”

He said .ai domain can now be sold in 32 internationalised domain names, whereas previously “you could only buy a .ai domain in Latin characters”.

“By approving 32 different languages or typesets, we have now expanded to 32 different markets where people can buy .ai domain,” he explained. 

“So essentially, what we have done… is open the market and the pool even wider for persons to be able to have access to our domain.”

He said the expansion, combined with marketing efforts, is expected to increase revenue from .ai domain registrations.

During the same press conference, Vanterpool said Anguilla has “no basis for unnecessary alarm” over US president Donald Trump’s proposal to replace the term artificial intelligence with super intelligence.

“I want to reassure the general public that at this stage we have no reason to believe that this announcement poses an immediate threat to Anguilla’s .ai domain industry,” he said.

 In October, 2024, US company Identity Digital signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to manage the sale of .ai domain registrations for five years.

Representatives said they would be using their global registry management system to help reduce cybersecurity risks and protect the coveted domain’s reputation.

Former premier Ellis Webster said the company would charge a small percentage of the domain registration costs for the company’s services, but did not provide further details.

The .ai country code top-level domain (ccTLD) officially migrated over to the company’s platform in January 2025.

Anguilla went on to earn EC$230m (US$85.3m) from .ai domain registrations in 2025 – far exceeding the government’s projected end-of-year total.

In April this year, Anguilla hosted a high-level global summit for .ai domain registrars, bringing together major international tech and digital industry players.

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