What's Your Domain Worth? I Built An AI Agent To Find Out...

I recently built a new agent on agent.ai that I wish I'd had years ago.

If you're someone who buys, sells, or collects domains (or frankly, anyone who's ever wondered "what's my domain actually worth?"), this one's worth trying.

If you’re anxious to just try it out, you can get to it by visiting DomainEst.ai (that will take you to the AI agent on agent.ai).

It's called the Domain Value Estimator, and true to my love of simplicity, it couldn't be easier to use:

• Enter any domain name

• Wait about a minute or so

• Get a detailed valuation with supporting evidence

You know that feeling when you're considering buying a domain and have absolutely no idea if the price is fair? That's exactly what got me excited about building this agent - it takes the guesswork out of equation and turns it into something actually data-driven.

In today's newsletter, I'm breaking down how it works and showing you how to try it yourself.

—Dharmesh

How The Magic Happens (Under The Hood)

After years of treating domains like Pokémon—gotta catch 'em all—I wanted a smarter way to answer the eternal question: "What's this thing actually worth?"

So I spent enough late nights wrestling with Python code and AI models that my Apple Watch now thinks "2 a.m." is my cardio hour. The result combines multiple data sources to arrive at a credible valuation:

First: It Gathers Recent Market Data

The agent vacuums up fresh domain-deal headlines and recent sales data to help inform the estimate. It's basically like knowing what similar houses in your neighbourhood sold for last month.

Second: It Leverages My Transaction History

I gave it access to my own private domain transaction data (and yes, I've bought and sold quite a few over the years including chat.com to OpenAI). This provides real-world data points that aren't publicly available elsewhere.

Third: It Scans Current Marketplace Listings

The agent then combs live domain marketplace listings to triangulate a better valuation, giving you context on what similar domains are currently listed for.

Fourth: It Applies Advanced Reasoning

Using OpenAI's o3 model, the agent thinks through all these factors like a seasoned domain appraiser would. Think Sherlock Holmes with a point to prove.

Fifth: It Shows Its Work

Instead of just giving you a number, you get the full reasoning in plain English, along with the raw data breadcrumbs so you can see exactly how it arrived at its conclusion:

Why Domain Valuation Is Both Art and Science

I've often been told "Dharmesh, seriously, stop buying more domains." My wife, friends, and financial advisor have all had that conversation with me at some point.

But the truth is, buying domains has been profitable for me. My $15.5M acquisition (and subsequent sale) of chat.com is well-known, but that was just one of many successful domain investments I've made.

It wasn't always that way though. I made plenty of expensive mistakes early on, buying domains based purely on gut feeling. Those late nights coding came from a desire to replace intuition with something more systematic.

Domain valuation exists in this strange middle ground between objective metrics and subjective value:

• The Science: Domain length, keyword popularity, extension value

• The Art: Brand potential, memorability, industry relevance

That's why I had some hesitation before releasing this agent. There's no truly objective way to know the "right" answer. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and dollar signs are in the eyes of the domain holder.

Most existing tools give you either ridiculously wide ranges ("$500-$250,000") or rely on simplistic formulas. But what makes this agent different is how it combines multiple data sources with sophisticated o3 reasoning to arrive at a valuation you can actually use, while showing you exactly why it reached that conclusion.

It won't be perfect (what AI is?), but it's a huge improvement over the "this feels about right" approach I've been using for years.

Try It Yourself

If you’re interested in giving it a shot, you can access the agent here: agent.ai/agent/domainvalue

Some pro tips I've discovered for getting the most value:

1. Compare Similar Domains - Run multiple analyses on similar domains to better understand the specific factors influencing value in that niche

2. Save Your Valuations - Grab the URL of your results to reference later or share with others

3. Check Before Negotiations - Run the agent before entering domain purchase negotiations to have data-backed insights

4. Cross-Reference Factors - Pay special attention to which factors most heavily influenced the valuation

Important note: While the agent is impressively thorough, always remember that a domain is ultimately worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Use these insights as guidelines, not absolute truths.

If you try this out, I'd love to hear what you discover about your domains. Kick the tires, break things (gently), and tell me what you love, hate, or want to see next.

As always, great ideas earn virtual high-fives.

May your domains be short and your valuations sky-high.

—Dharmesh (@dharmesh)