AI in Optical Retail: Threat, Tool or the New Teammate?
AI is reshaping optical retail, but is it quietly replacing professional expertise, or redefining how it is delivered?
Artificial Intelligence has moved from being a buzzword to becoming a business reality in optical retail.
What once sounded experimental is now embedded in daily operations, from automated refraction and diagnostic software to AI-led frame recommendations, customer analytics, and demand forecasting.
Across India, optical stores are adopting technology not just to look modern, but to stay relevant.
AI promises faster consultations, better stock management, sharper marketing, and data-backed decisions that improve both efficiency and profitability. In an increasingly competitive and price-sensitive market, this level of optimisation is hard to ignore. Yet eyewear is not a purely transactional category. It sits at the intersection of healthcare, fashion and personal identity.
While algorithms can process numbers, patterns and preferences, they cannot replicate intuition, empathy, or the ability to read what a customer may not be able to articulate.
The role of the optician has always gone beyond prescribing lenses. It includes counselling, trust-building, lifestyle understanding, and long-term care. These are elements built through experience — not code.
The real question, therefore, is not whether AI will enter optical retail. It already has. The real question is whether it will dilute professional expertise or elevate it by removing friction and freeing opticians to focus on what truly matters.
As Indian consumers become more digital-first and expectation-driven, the future of optical retail may depend less on choosing between humans and machines, and more on how intelligently both are combined.
So we asked voices from across the country one simple question:
Is AI in optical retail a threat to professional expertise, or its most powerful upgrade yet?
Priyanka Dedhia, Optometrist and Owner, Classic Vision
“The world is evolving every second, and if you don't evolve with the trends, you will be left behind. AI is neither a threat nor a tool but a mechanism which can be altered to help you put your best professional foot forward, provided you know how to use it to your benefit. Going forward, AI is going to be the norm, which is going to be a part of every industry, including the optical industry, and those that use it as an asset will definitely have a better and more Global practice.
At Classic Vision, the reason why we always invest in the latest technology and innovations is that we genuinely enjoy playing with the latest Global tech, specifically AI-driven, to give our customers the best the world has to offer. From future myopic predictions to generating bespoke Eyewear and teleoptometry, AI is definitely a very helpful and non-negotiable aspect for us at Classic Vision.”
Ramachandran Parthasarathy, Eyewear Expert
“AI is now embedded across every aspect of business, and optical retail is no exception. However, in eye care, artificial intelligence must be balanced with emotional intelligence (EQ). Technology can analyse data, but trust, empathy, and professional judgment remain uniquely human.
Rather than replacing expertise, AI is redefining how that expertise is delivered. Optical professionals will increasingly rely on data-driven insights, covering vision needs, lifestyle patterns, and product performance, to recommend better, more personalised solutions. The real measure of success will be how effectively AI is used for value creation, not simply for automation.
In optical retail, this translates into faster decisions, smarter recommendations, and more consistent care—while keeping professionals firmly at the centre of the customer experience. AI is therefore not a threat to expertise; it is becoming a new teammate that amplifies it.”
Ronak Sheth, Founder, OPIUM Eyewear
“We don’t see AI as a replacement for people in optical retail - we see it as support. At OPIUM Eyewear, technology helps us do what we already care about, just better.
Whether it’s making eye testing more accurate, simplifying the online buying journey, or understanding our customers more deeply, AI allows our teams to focus on what really matters: great products and genuine human connection. In a fast-moving market like India, AI doesn’t take away expertise - it helps deliver it in smarter, more meaningful ways. ”
