AI steps in for eye-tests as Lenskart looks to beat optometrist crunch

Recently-listed Lenskart has been upfront about this imbalance, repeatedly flagging the limited availability of qualified optometrists as a key risk across India, South-East Asia and West Asia in its draft red herring prospectus filed with the capital markets regulator in July last year. The company has warned that it continues to face difficulties in finding, training and retaining opticians and optometrists, particularly as it expands into newer markets.

That constraint has sharpened as Lenskart accelerates expansion. During its Q2 FY26 earnings call, the company pointed to the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled remote eye-testing across more than 500 stores as a way to work around this constraint.

“High-volume or clinically complex locations may continue to have on-site optometrists, but newer or lower-volume stores are increasingly designed around remote-testing from day one," said a person directly involved in the company’s operations.

Under this remote testing model, optometrists are centralized and effectively “teleport" into stores across the country through video links and proprietary AI-enabled diagnostic equipment. “Technology allows a single optometrist to conduct far more eye tests than would be possible in a traditional, store-bound setup," the person said. “It’s about multiplying the impact of scarce talent, rather than competing endlessly for it."

Lenskart expects remote and self-optometry (an internal operating term for AI-enabled eye testing) to become the default foundational layer of eyecare delivery as the company expands into underpenetrated markets, the person said.

The shift is already reflected in volumes: in the first half of FY26, the company conducted 9.3 million eye tests in India—surpassing the total for the entire FY24—driven largely by its remote-testing capability, with eye test volumes growing 47% year-on-year.

The company also offers home eye tests in major cities, where routing algorithms assign the nearest available optometrist, enabling tests to be completed within 60 minutes. AI-led systems have reduced the average in-store eye-test wait times from 19.5 minutes to 15.8 minutes, the person said, adding that on-site optometry will "continue to play a complementary role in high-density, high-complexity clusters". The company has, however, not publicly detailed how clinical complexity is defined, identified, or escalated within its remote and self-optometry models.

Lenskart’s closest competitor, Titan Eye+, by contrast, continues to rely on traditional in-store clinical testing by optometrists. The company offers a “20-step zero-error" eye test performed by trained professionals, according to its annual report.

Queries sent to Lenskart did not elicit a response until press time.

Beyond spectacle prescription

While eye-testing and prescribing spectacles are scaling up, there are concerns flagged on use of technology over expert eyes. Optometry is not a routine retail task, and cannot be treated like one, argue health experts.

“The eye is one of the few places in the body where blood vessels can be directly observed, allowing specialists to flag early signs of conditions such as diabetes or thyroid disorders, often before patients are aware of them," said Dr. Rajeev Prasad, secretary of the Indian Optometry Association (IOA) and president of the Asia Pacific Council of Optometry.

Optometry’s core value, he said, lies in preventive care, early detection and timely referral, not merely prescribing glasses.

“Corporates are structurally incentivized to sell eyewear, not invest in preventive eye care and are unlikely to prioritize in high-throughput retail settings," Prasad said.

That is where concerns emerge around AI-led, retail-first models. While remote optometry and AI tools can aid consultation and simple refraction, scaling them as substitutes risks eroding clinical judgement, weakening the optometrist’s role as a primary eyecare provider, and compromising care in complex cases such as paediatric, geriatric, diabetic or glaucoma-risk patients, experts said.

Skilling lacunae

Beneath this lies deeper labour-market distortion. India produces an estimated 6,000–7,000 bachelor-level optometrists annually, estimates IOA, yet many qualified professionals report unemployment or underemployment even as companies cite shortages. The gap, the IOA says, is driven by low pay.

Three optometrists working at Lenskart stores told Mint they are diploma holders earning between ₹20,000 and ₹25,000 a month. “Large chains disproportionately hire diploma holders or short-course technicians," Prasad said. “Consumers cannot easily distinguish between diploma-, bachelor- or master-level optometrists in-store, which creates uneven quality of care and accountability gaps."

Policy uncertainty has compounded the problem. India’s optometry education pipeline remains fragmented, with courses ranging from one-year diplomas to PhDs and no clear role demarcation. The government and the University Grants Commission have repeatedly revised the curricula—oscillating between four- and five-year programmes—without resolving issues of professional recognition or career progression.

“This uncertainty is reducing student intake and worsening the shortage over time," said Prasad.

Liability - how it works

Liability in technology-driven systems is more diffused, experts said.

While licensed clinicians continue to bear responsibility for individual prescriptions, “[liability] partly sits with the technology architects who manage data quality associated with AI-assisted optometric practices," said Abhivardhan, president of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, an industry forum.

“This model does not actually solve the optometrist shortage; it allows companies to scale around it," said Sohom Banerjee, senior research associate at CUTS International, a policy research and advocacy group.

Humans, he added, are still involved, but not where they used to be. “What we are seeing is the centralization of clinical judgment with AI-enabled augmentation, not just automation."

At scale, that shift changes the risk profile. “Scale doesn’t just multiply efficiency; it multiplies the consequences of failure," Banerjee said.

Centralized remote testing, he noted, also turns eyecare into a data-advantaged platform business, with human expertise increasingly repositioned toward oversight and escalation, rather than routine care.