The .ai Registry appears to have made changes to its public, web-based WHOIS tool in recent weeks.
First off, domain records no longer display the domain’s creation date; this feature has been removed at least since January 30th. For example, this is the output of two records for the domain Zombie.ai:
One might think that WHOIS query output from domain registrars such as Namecheap or from WHOIS metadata tools such as DomainTools might be filtered out but this isn’t exactly the case here.
The .ai Registry’s official web site, Whois.ai, notes that it’s no longer a public web site. It prompts WHOIS queries to be performed via whois.nic.ai. Once there, the page is locked down with a user/password/captcha form as seen below:
So how is one supposed to perform WHOIS queries on .ai domain names? 🤔
Considering the popularity rise in the registration and aftermarket sales of .ai domains, this recent move by the .ai Registry seems rather baffling.
Update 2/14/2024: The .AI WHOIS tool is once again made public. However, domains no longer display a creation date.
