AI is changing how software gets built, and that's moving domains closer to the center of the product.
name.com surveyed 1,120 decision-makers and interviewed 12 industry leaders to understand how AI is reshaping development workflows and what it means for the platforms and tools developers rely on. The findings are worth a look if you're building products where users ship sites or apps.
A few numbers stand out:
- .dev registrations grew 8x in 2025. As AI lowers the cost of building, more end users and startups are shipping, and they need a home for what they build.
- 77% of professionals expect domain name importance to increase because of AI. The more AI democratizes development, the more critical naming and identity become.
- Platforms are already responding. Vercel, Netlify, Replit, and Lovable have embedded domain search and registration directly into their publish flows.
The pattern is consistent: as the barrier to shipping drops, it's increasingly important to include domain registration in your publish flow.
Read the full report: Online version | PDF version
