aim.com

December 4, 2025

What was AIM.com

• Full name: AOL Instant Messenger. It launched in May 1997. (Webopedia)

• It was a standalone instant-messaging program (though originally linked to AOL's broader services). Users had a unique “screen name,” a “buddy list” of contacts, and could see who was online. (courses.worldcampus.psu.edu)

• Through AIM you could do more than send plain text: later versions supported sending files, pictures, emojis; there were group chats; … even early experiments with voice/video and “bots” (automated buddies that could share jokes, news, or weather). (Webopedia)

• Under the hood AIM used a proprietary protocol named OSCAR (and another simpler one called TOC) to carry its messaging traffic. (Wikipedia)

What made AIM significant

• It was among the first mainstream instant-messaging tools — before widespread mobile-phone texting or modern chat apps. For many people in late 1990s / early 2000s, AIM was how you stayed connected, chatted with friends, coordinated, shared files — all in real time. (HowStuffWorks)

• At its height, it had tens of millions of monthly users; during peak hours millions were online simultaneously. (HowStuffWorks)

• Many conventions common in today’s social apps — “buddy lists” / “online presence,” status/away messages, quick-sharing of media/files — can trace roots back to tools like AIM. (Medium)

• For workplaces and small-to-medium businesses of the time, AIM demonstrated that IM could be used beyond casual chatting — immediate communication, small-group coordination, light file-sharing, presence awareness. (Capterra)

Why AIM faded and shut down

• Over time, newer platforms emerged — social networks, mobile messaging, more modern IM apps — and user habits shifted. AIM gradually lost its dominance. (Wikipedia)

• On December 15, 2017, AIM was officially discontinued, after two decades in operation. (Wikipedia)

• As of today, while AIM itself no longer functions, the legacy remains in the design patterns and social norms among online messaging platforms.

What happens if you go to “aim.com” today

• The domain previously associated with AIM now points to housing the email-service offered by AOL (often called AOL Mail). People with “@aim.com” email addresses can still use that as an email account. (Mailspring)

• That means you can still log in to your old email (if account is active), using standard email protocols (IMAP/SMTP) rather than an old AIM client. (Mailspring)

• But the old instant-messaging features — buddy lists, chat, presence — are gone. There is no live, supported “AIM chat service” anymore.

Legacy and Influence: Why AIM still matters

• AIM played a foundational role in shaping how people thought about online communication: instant, presence-based, social yet informal. Many of today’s habits (status indicators, “online now”, quick chat rather than long emails) originated or became mainstream with tools like AIM.

• For a generation, AIM was the first exposure to digital communities. Friendships, social dynamics, first crushes or collaborations — much of early-internet social life happened through AIM.

• Technically, it pioneered mainstream adoption of IM outside of corporate or niche communities. It proved that real-time messaging over the Internet, cheaply and easily, could work — and be broadly popular.

Key Takeaways

• AIM was among the earliest and most well-known instant-messaging platforms.

• It offered real-time chat, file/picture sharing, “buddy lists,” status messages — features now common in nearly all social apps.

• At its peak it had millions of active users; but by 2017 it was shut down — replaced in spirit by newer social and messaging platforms.

• The domain “aim.com” now mainly refers to email service (AOL Mail), not the old chat service.

• AIM’s impact lives on: its design patterns and social functions influenced how modern messaging and social apps work.

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FAQ

Q: Is AIM still around?
No. The instant-messaging service was discontinued in December 2017. What remains is the email domain and service.

Q: Can I still access old AIM chat logs or talk to people over AIM today?
Not via official channels. Because AIM is shut down, the servers are gone. Some fans or hobbyist projects have claimed to recreate parts of the experience — but they’re unofficial and unsupported.

Q: What’s the difference between AIM and an “@aim.com” email?
Originally, AIM was a chat/IM platform. The “@aim.com” email address belonged to (or was associated with) the broader services from the company behind AIM. Now “@aim.com” (or old AOL addresses) are essentially email accounts (through AOL Mail), not chat accounts.

Q: Why did AIM get so big — what made it stand out at the time?
Because it offered real-time chat that was fast, free, easy to use, and social. It let people instantly connect — friends, coworkers, family — over the internet. That was new in late 1990s / early 2000s.

Q: Did AIM invent chat?
Not exactly. Messaging and chat systems existed before. But AIM was among the first to bring it to mainstream consumers at scale. It popularized features — presence, buddy lists, easy file sharing — that later became staple in modern social/messaging apps.