VisionPlus India

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? AI INOPTICAL RETAIL:THREAT, TOOLORTHE NEWTEAMMATE? JUST ONE QUESTION AI is reshaping optical retail, but is it quietly replacing professional expertise, or redefining how it is delivered? A rtificial 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. 58 VISION PLUS INDIA EDITION