AI, data and relationship: the new balance of independent optics

In recent months the optical industry has started moving within an evident tension: on one side pressure on price, on the other technological acceleration. In the dialogue I had at MIDO 2026 with Paolo Pettazzoni, CEO of Optovista, a central point emerged clearly: artificial intelligence is not the change. It is one of the tools within a wider change.

The real strategic knot today is not "using AI". It is understanding how data, personalisation and human centrality can coexist in a structured way.

That is where the future of the independent optician is decided.

A market that polarises

2025 showed clear signals: in the second half of the year the market slowed down. In a scenario of economic uncertainty, caution becomes collective behaviour. GfK data highlighted a significant dynamic: in the chain channel the average selling price of lenses fell markedly. A classic lever in a stagnant context: lower the price to sustain volumes.

The independent optician, on the other hand, cannot compete on the same ground. Not through inability, but by the nature of their model. When the market polarises, strategies become clear: either you compete on price, or you compete on value. And value, today, runs through three pillars.

1. Data: from administrative archive to strategic lever

The optical industry has always collected data: prescriptions, parameters, purchases, replacement frequency. But for years data remained mainly a management tool. Today that is no longer enough. In an evolved model, data becomes a tool for understanding behaviour, a basis for positioning decisions, a lever for continuous improvement.

The most interesting passage of the interview concerns the use of artificial intelligence in generative form: not a static algorithm applying predefined rules, but a system that changes according to the feedback collected. If the customer comes back, if they give feedback on their visual experience, if the optician collects that information in a structured way, the system evolves. It is not technology for its own sake. It is method. The difference is not made by AI: it is made by data culture.

2. Personalisation: not a slogan, but a process

"Personalised lens" is an expression the market has used for years. But what does personalisation really mean today? It is not only adapting technical parameters. It is building a dialogue. In the interview we talked about how AI can generate dynamic questions based on the customer’s answers. This changes the very nature of the consultation: guided listening, collection of qualitative information, interpretation of the context of use, delivery of a coherent proposal.

Technology, in this scenario, does not replace the professional. It supports them. The point is subtle but decisive: if AI is perceived as automation, it frightens. If it is integrated as a tool supporting the dialogue, it strengthens the relationship. And this is where a key concept comes in: selling is no longer linear.

3. Human centrality: the real competitive advantage

When the market contracts and competition shifts to price, the independent optician has only one viable road: strengthening their relational identity. But "relationship" does not mean cordiality. It means structure: an up-to-date CRM, a follow-up call, a request for feedback, real attention to the experience of use.

In the interview we touched on a decisive point: the reluctance to call the customer back for fear of receiving negative feedback. It is a cultural issue. Negative feedback not collected stays negative. Feedback collected becomes improvement.

Human centrality is not opposed to technology. It is what gives it meaning. Without relationship, AI is automation. Without data, relationship is fragile intuition. Without strategic vision, data are just numbers. The competitive advantage of the independent optician is not size. It is the depth of the relationship.

The point of balance

The future of optics is not played against artificial intelligence. It is played in the ability to integrate three dimensions: structured data, real personalisation, human centrality. It is not about becoming technological. It is about becoming aware. The polarisation of the market is not a threat if you understand your positioning. Chains can work on scale. The independent can work on quality.

AI does not replace the optician. It makes the optician who knows how to use it more powerful.

In the video on this page you will find the full interview with Paolo Pettazzoni recorded at MIDO 2026, where we analyse in detail the evolution of the market, the role of technology and the prospects for independent optics. Digital tools, and the decisions needed to bring them into daily work, are the theme of the webinar The state of the art of digital for optics and of the digital marketing for optics area; the self-guided step is Trade Up Online in Italy, and The Charismatic Practice elsewhere. Because change is not an event. It is a process. And today, more than ever, it takes a clear eye to get through it.