A new survey by managed hosting provider 20i put a number on something most of us in the hosting industry already felt coming. Three quarters of US web designers โ 76% to be exact โ say AI-driven competition is already impacting their business. When asked what would most transform their industry over the next decade, they ranked AI agent-led website creation first. AI-powered self-design tools came second.
For BrandForge, this isn’t a warning. It’s a confirmation.
The Channel Is Changing, Not Dying
Before we get into what this means, let’s be clear about what the data actually shows. The 20i survey of 500 professionals paints a more nuanced picture than the headline suggests. Yes, 76% feel competitive pressure from AI. But 78.6% say they feel properly compensated, and 37% earn over $100,000 per year. This is not an industry in freefall. It’s an industry splitting in two.
The designers doing complex, high-value work โ UX research, custom integrations, accessibility audits, performance optimization โ are largely fine. The ones under pressure are those building the five-page brochure site for a local business. The kind of site that, today, AI can generate in minutes.
And here’s what makes that matter for hosting: web designers and agencies have historically been one of the most important acquisition channels for hosting providers. They choose the host, set up the account, build the site, and often manage the relationship for years. When that designer is removed from the equation, the hosting company needs a new path to the customer.
The Numbers That Should Catch Your Attention
The survey reveals that 32% of clients prioritize delivery speed above everything else, and 27% prioritize price. Only 18% prioritize visual quality. When speed and price are what the market wants, AI wins. And 89% of designers believe clients underestimate the true cost of web design โ which is precisely the gap AI website builders are filling. Not by matching designer quality, but by matching what most clients think they need.
Meanwhile, 53% of domain industry respondents (per the Global Domain Report 2026) cite new business formation as the top driver of domain demand, with AI-generated brand names coming in at 40%. People are starting businesses faster than ever, and they’re using AI to do it. Domain registration, hosting, and branding are all becoming embedded steps in that process โ not afterthoughts.
The registrants are arriving. The question is whether the platforms are ready.
What the Big Players Are Already Building
The hosting industry hasn’t been sitting still. Hostinger launched Horizons in March 2025, a tool that generates functional websites and web apps from plain-language descriptions, running on Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude. Their AI assistant Kodee already handles 83% of customer support interactions. Hostinger reported โฌ275.4 million in 2025 revenue, up 51% year-over-year.
Extendify takes a white-label approach โ providing AI site building tools that hosting companies pre-install for their WordPress customers. Their partner list includes WebPros, Namecheap, Spaceship, and mijndomein.nl. Their AutoLaunch feature creates a finished WordPress site before the customer even logs in for the first time.
DreamHost launched Remixer on March 10 โ a conversational AI builder bundled at no extra cost with plans starting at $1.99/month. Two to three minutes from description to live multi-page site. The output is portable, standard HTML that the customer owns outright.
The pattern is clear: the hosting companies growing fastest are the ones that removed the “you still need to find someone to build your site” step from their onboarding entirely.
Where BrandForge Fits
This is exactly the market BrandForge was built for.
We’re not a website builder. We’re a white-label AI brand creation platform โ built for hosting providers, registrars, and agencies who want to offer their customers something more than a website. A complete brand: logo, color palette, typography, brand assets, web presence, and commerce capabilities, all generated and managed through AI, and all delivered under the reseller’s own brand.
The shift described in the 20i survey isn’t a threat to our partners. It’s the business case for them. When the web designer is no longer in the loop, the hosting provider becomes the first point of contact for a new business getting online. BrandForge gives them something meaningful to offer at that moment โ not just a server, but a brand.
The designers who remain โ the strategists, the specialists, the ones doing work AI genuinely can’t โ are also a natural fit. BrandForge gives agencies a way to deliver brand creation at scale, handling the repetitive execution work so their team can focus on the high-value thinking.
The Practical Upshot
If you’re a hosting reseller or agency reading this, three things are worth acting on now.
First, your reseller product needs repositioning. If it’s still primarily pitched at freelance web designers, you’re targeting a shrinking segment. Marketing agencies, IT consultants, and managed service providers are the growth channel.
Second, AI site building is no longer optional. If your onboarding flow still ends with “good luck finding someone to build your site,” you’re sending customers to Wix. Integrated AI tooling โ whether that’s Extendify, a proprietary builder, or a platform like BrandForge โ is becoming table stakes.
Third, brand creation is the next step after site creation. Getting a business online is one thing. Building a brand identity that works across their website, social channels, print materials, and domain presence is another. That’s the upsell opportunity that most hosting providers are leaving on the table.
The Bottom Line
The 20i survey captures a profession in transition. But for the platforms building what comes next, it reads less like anxiety and more like a market map. The lower end of web design is being automated. The customers those designers served still need to get online. And the hosting providers who meet them with something smarter than a cPanel login page will be the ones that grow.
BrandForge is built for that moment. If you’re a hosting provider, registrar, or agency thinking about what your AI offering looks like in 2026, we’d like to talk.
Sources: 2026 Web Designer Survey by 20i. Global Domain Report 2026 by InterNetX & Sedo. Hostinger Financial Results 2025.