Smart eyewear is no longer a futuristic concept; it is capturing the attention and curiosity of many. While adoption is still in the early stages, eyecare professionals have the opportunity to shift from being passive observers to active curators of this technology. The marketing pitch for smart eyewear in the consumer-facing arena is predominantly targeted toward content-creating, social media-focused users. This can alienate patients, leading to an untapped audience that is underinformed about many benefits of wearable tech when combined with a wearer's prescription lens needs.

As ECPs, we have a strategic opportunity to frame the conversation around this cutting-edge technology in a way that can solve daily vision aggravators, offer a lifeline for vision issues that are beyond the scope of lens correction, and open a new revenue stream otherwise overlooked.

When presenting smart eyewear in the optical environment, shift the narrative of smart glasses from gadgets to lifestyle-enhancing devices. By asking the same investigative lifestyle questions we use to uncover a patient's visual needs, we can also identify potential benefits of smart eyewear.

The Low-Vision Patient: Smart eyewear can be used as an assistive medical device by using artificial intelligence to describe what the wearer is looking at and to read text aloud. Beyond smart eyewear specifically designed for low vision patients, other consumer-facing products should not be overlooked as they can offer many low vision user benefits at a significantly lower price point.

The Commuter: The opportunity to navigate daily commuting without the visual distraction of a phone or auditory isolation caused by headphones that limit environmental awareness isn’t only a safety benefit, it reduces eye strain and “phone neck.” Smart eyewear can be presented to solve both of these problems. These frames can offer audio navigation, so the wearer can take in their surroundings while finding their way, listen to  text messages, and make hands-free calls.

The Mental Multitasker:Handheld devices are a constant distraction, affecting the attention span for the task at hand. Everything on digital devices is designed to keep our eyes on it for as long as possible, which can cause near-distance focus lock and convergence excess. Smart eyewear can act as a personal operating system for attention, using image-capture capabilities to document important information and voice-to-text to create reminders or record ideas in the moment—all without looking at the phone.

Practice Preparedness

Preparing your practice to focus on the individual rather than the target demographic begins with ensuring your team is familiarized with how to discuss, demonstrate, dispense, and troubleshoot the products. An active sample is essential to give everyone, especially staff members, the opportunity to try it firsthand. Each staff member is likely to find a feature that they appreciate most, which will give them the ability to share authentic user experiences with patients.

Each optician and team member should be well-versed with the following basic functions of smart eyewear:

• Know the Rx range and compatible lens specification (such as lens thickness and base-curve limitations).

• Be focused on fit. Due to the built-in tech components, adjustments of these frames is very limited. Fit must be properly assessed and evaluated with samples.

• Know how the frames are charged and turned on.

• Be comfortable with pairing the device, what apps are required, and how to navigate basic software issues.

• Know the function of each button and command.

Consider crowning an in-house expert to be the point person for implementing in-house knowledge sharing and creating quick reference guides to support both staff and patients efficiently. 

Book a specialized appointment type for tech eyewear pickups. Naturally, these appointments take a little longer than a regular dispensing and come with many more questions. Provide the patient with instructions on how to prepare for the appointment, including which apps to download on their devices.

It is important your patient feels comfortable utilizing their new tech eyewear, while avoiding excessive and time-consuming hand holding for every little inquiry. Create an aftercare email to be sent on the day of pickup that includes links to educational videos and warranty information.

Smart and tech-enabled eyewear opens our eyes and our practices to new possibilities, supercharging the evolution of how we see, interact with, and rely on our eyewear every day. By embracing wearable technology at the eye care level, ECPs can position themselves not just as dispensers of products, but as trusted guides in a rapidly evolving visual landscape.