California Bans the SI Rebrand: What a Split Vocabulary Means for .si Buyers

The SI rebrand now has a border

Three days after President Trump signed the executive order titled 'Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence', the most useful news for domain buyers isn't about Washington. It's about where the new word stops. According to Newsbricks, states like California have passed counter-orders explicitly banning their state agencies from adopting the 'SI' rebrand.

I've already written about the order itself and about the accord signed at the White House lunch. This post covers something different: the map. If you're thinking of buying a .si name, you need to know who's going to say "SI" and who isn't.

Where SI is spreading

Inside the federal executive branch, the order reaches a long way. The Daily Star reports that it covers official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other non-statutory material. It also says the administration will, where permitted by law, no longer acknowledge the terms "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" in applicable settings.

The word is heading abroad through diplomats too. The Daily Star says the State Department instructed diplomats working with international organisations to adopt "SI" in their documents, positions, remarks and press material. News24 reports the State Department had already begun using the new terminology in some official communications.

So SI won't stay a White House curiosity. It'll appear on federal websites and in US positions at international bodies, which means it will reach audiences beyond US borders.

Where AI isn't going anywhere

• US law. Statutory laws passed by Congress still say "Artificial Intelligence", per Newsbricks. The Daily Star adds that, for legal purposes, "Super Intelligence" and "SI" refer to technologies already covered by the existing statutory definition of artificial intelligence.
• Old paperwork. Existing regulations, presidential actions, contracts, grants and historical documents don't have to be rewritten under the order.
• States. California and others have banned their agencies from adopting SI.
• Other countries. The US government can't legally mandate language changes for other sovereign countries, and foreign governments continue to use "Artificial Intelligence". Trump expressed hope at the UN General Assembly that the rest of the world would adopt the phrase, but that's a hope, not a rule.
• Researchers. News24 points out that for AI researchers, superintelligence remains a specific concept linked to a possible future stage of AI. Newsbricks says the rebrand doesn't alter the technical definitions used by the global scientific and research communities.

What a split vocabulary means for domain buyers

A word that one government requires and another bans isn't a settled word. That's the honest reading of this week. SI may grow inside US federal communications and diplomacy, but Congress's statute books, foreign governments, California's agencies and the research world are all still using AI.

For a .si buyer, I'd take two lessons from it.

1. Don't buy on the rebrand alone. If a name's only appeal is "SI is the new AI", it depends on a vocabulary shift that California has just refused and that other governments haven't adopted. That's a thin bet.
2. Buy the words, not the headline. The stronger case for a .si is a plain phrase people already search for, where the .com and .ai are taken or priced far higher. Then the SI story is a bonus, not the whole thesis.

It's worth repeating what I tell everyone: most .si names are speculation, and the aftermarket for them is small. If the .com of your words is available at a price you can live with, buy the .com.

Names that work whether people say AI or SI

Because AI is still the everyday word in most places, the names in my inventory that fit this moment best are the ones that already contain it, or that describe the bigger question without needing the rebrand to win.

• aiprompts.si ($5,500): over 200,000 searches a month worldwide for the exact phrase, a US cost per click above $2, and a .ai twin listed at $44,500. The .com has been held since 2018.
• aivideoeditor.si ($5,000): "AI video editor" is searched 201,000 times a month worldwide and 27,100 times in the US. The .com twin asks $149,995 and the .ai twin is for sale too.
• aimarket.si ($4,500): 12,100 searches a month, with the .com listed at $594,888 and the .ai at $47,995.
• futurehuman.si ($1,500): 5,400 searches a month, a .ai listed at $290,000 and a .com held since 1999. It's about what people become next to smarter machines, so it doesn't depend on which acronym wins.

These figures are search volumes and asking prices, not sales. A high asking price on a .com or .ai doesn't prove anyone will pay it, and it doesn't prove a .si will resell.

Should you buy a .si name because of this?

Not because of this news alone. California's counter-order and the fact that foreign governments still say AI tell you SI isn't a universal word yet, and it may never be. If your plan rests on the rebrand spreading everywhere, wait.

If you've got a real use for a name, run the three-question test first:

1. Is the .com and .ai taken? If either is available at a fair price, that's usually the better buy.
2. Is it a generic name and not a brand? Plain words only. Never buy a .si that copies one company's brand.
3. Do people search for it? Check that the phrase gets real monthly searches, not just that it sounds nice.

If the answer is yes to all three, a .si can be a sensible, cheaper way to own the plain words. If it isn't, keep your money.

Names from this store that pass the test

Questions

Sources

1. Newsbricks, 2026-10-01
2. The Daily Star, 2026-10-01
3. News24, 2026-09-30

This post was researched and drafted with AI help from the sources above, then checked by me before publishing. Facts are as reported on the dates shown.