Are .xyz domains still seen as sketchy in 2026?

I wanted speechtotext.com (or .ai, .io) for a side project but they're all taken or parked at $5K+. Ended up grabbing speechtotext.xyz for $12/year and redirecting it to my main domain. Now I'm second-guessing myself. A few concerns:

1. Do users hesitate to click .xyz links? (spam association from the early days) 2. Does Google treat .xyz differently for ranking? 3. For a redirect-only domain, does TLD even matter?

I know Google's own parent company uses abc.xyz, but that's Google. Curious what the actual experience is for indie projects. Anyone running a .xyz as their primary domain? How's it working out?