Abstract

Websites represent strategic digital assets for organizations. Domain extensions serve as organizational identifiers. They signal strategic positioning and technological orientation. The longevity of these domains depends critically on user characteristics. This study compares two distinct domain types. The .com extension represents mature e-business infrastructure. The .ai extension signals artificial intelligence capabilities and technological innovation. This study investigates how user diversity characteristics influence domain longevity across these two extensions. Data on over 2.5 million combined .com and .ai website domains were collected from the ComScore Web Behavior database. U.S. panelists accessed these websites between 2018 and 2024. This study examines three user diversity dimensions: geographic distribution, household income variation, and household size heterogeneity. It employs Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. The results reveal differential effects across domain types. All three diversity characteristics significantly influence .com longevity. Only household income diversity affects .ai domain survival. These findings contribute to Service-Dominant Logic and focus strategy theory. Mature digital assets require different user base compositions than emergent assets. This difference determines their sustained survival. Organizations can leverage these insights for strategic domain selection. Aligning domain choice with target user characteristics enhances digital asset longevity.

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