Registrations of .si domains, Slovenia's country code, surged in late September 2026. The trigger was a US executive order dated September 29 that replaces "AI" with "SI" ("super intelligence") in official language. On October 3, Slovenia's registry was showing 11,424 new domains in 24 hours. If you are thinking of buying one, check how search engines read it first.
What we know
- The order: it is titled "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence" and the White House published it on September 29, 2026. It directs executive branch agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in communications, websites and reports. It defines the term with the legal definition artificial intelligence already had, and asks for a new definition to be proposed within 60 days.
- Why .si: it is Slovenia's country-code domain and it matches the new initials. Something similar happened with .ai, the domain of Anguilla.
- The registry's numbers: on October 4 at 03:07 UTC the Register.si home page showed 273,818 registered .si domains, 46,066 new in the last month and 11,424 in the last 24 hours. A day earlier the total was 259,851. The registry itself published a note, "Follow the Growth of .si Domains", acknowledging the increase and promising daily updates.
- The jump, according to TechCrunch: a registry spokesperson, Klara Herman, told the BBC that .si domain purchases rose 2,199% in September. The registry counted 11,000 new addresses on September 30, the day after the order was signed.
- Who is buying: according to Hostinger data quoted by TechCrunch, more than half of its registrations came from the United States and India, and only about 3% were clearly AI-related.
- A third-party measurement: Netcraft estimates the total number of .si domains grew 21.6% in eight days, from September 23 to October 1. It uses its own survey data because a country-code domain is under no obligation to publish its zone file. It does not say how many of those domains host a website.
- Real use: Domain Name Wire wrote on October 1 that it sees no adoption by actual companies yet.
What changes and what doesn't
Demand has changed for an extension that was created to identify Slovenia.
How Google treats country domains has not changed. Its documentation calls them "a strong signal" that a site is meant for that country. Google keeps a list of country codes it treats as generic, such as .ai, .io and .co. On October 3, .si was not on it.
In practice: today, a .si domain tells Google the site is for Slovenia.
The order does not bind anyone outside the US government either. No company has to rename what it calls AI.
What to check before buying a .si
- Who you sell to. If your customers are in one country, that country's domain or a .com says so more clearly than another country's code.
- Google's list. Check whether .si is still missing from the country codes Google treats as generic. While it is, it points to Slovenia.
- The brand. A free name is not a name you are free to use. Register.si runs a dispute procedure for domain name conflicts.
- Where to buy. Only through accredited registrars. Register.si lists 93.
- Renewal. A domain is a yearly cost. According to Domain Name Wire, the registry charges 10 euros a year; the final price is set by each registrar.
- Second thoughts. Register.si's guidelines allow cancelling within 16 days of registration, as long as the domain has not been activated.
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Sources
- The White House, executive order "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence", September 29, 2026
- Register.si, the official .si registry, home page counters
- Register.si, "Follow the Growth of .si Domains"
- Register.si, registration and return guidelines
- Google Search Central, "Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites"
- TechCrunch, October 2, 2026
- Netcraft, October 1, 2026
- Domain Name Wire, October 1, 2026
Updates: we will add here whether Google lists .si among the country codes it treats as generic, and new figures from the registry.