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Aipedia: Optometrists and opticians
Optometrists and dispensing opticians can use AI to support examinations, dispensing and practice admin, but the GOC standards keep professional judgement with the registrant. That matters because indemnity under Standard 12.2 protects the registrant's own clinical decisions, including those informed by software.
Part of: AI in Optometrists and opticians
In short
AI now reads OCT scans and retinal photographs, suggests referral urgency, predicts myopia progression, measures faces for frames and drafts clinical records. The GOC has no AI-specific standard, but its Standards of Practice, effective 1 January 2025, require registrants to keep aware of digital technologies (5.3) and to apply professional judgement to data they generate (7.8). The College of Optometrists' June 2025 interim position says AI should support clinicians, not replace them, and its draft 2026 guidance adds an AI section. Standard 12.2 requires adequate indemnity with no stated minimum limit; cover usually responds to the clinical decision, subject to the wording.
AI has reached optics through equipment and software rather than through a single big change. In the test room, OCT devices and cloud platforms add automated analysis that flags nerve fibre layer thinning or retinal fluid, and fundus cameras can be paired with software that grades photographs. Some tools suggest whether and how urgently to refer to hospital eye services. In myopia management, prediction tools estimate a child's likely progression and help compare treatment options.
On the dispensing side, virtual try-on, AI facial measurement and lens recommendation engines are used in store and online. Contact lens practitioners use topography analysis and remote aftercare apps. Across the practice, AI scribes draft examination records, chatbots answer questions and book appointments, recall messages are automated, and translation tools are used with patients who have limited English. Domiciliary providers use portable devices and AI-supported records in care homes, and trainees may use AI while learning.
Each use moves part of a task to software. None moves the professional responsibility.
The General Optical Council has not published an AI-specific standard or statement of its own. Its Standards of Practice for Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians, effective 1 January 2025, do the work instead. The GOC launch note listed digital technology and the confidentiality of patient images shared online among the changes.
| Source | Status | What it says about AI |
|---|---|---|
| GOC Standards 5.3 and 7.8 | Binding standards | Keep aware of digital developments; apply professional judgement to data from digital technologies |
| GOC Standards 8.1, 9, 12.2, 14, 19 | Binding standards | Records, supervision, indemnity, confidentiality and candour, all of which AI use touches |
| College interim position, 9 June 2025 | Sector position | AI is there to support clinicians, not replace them |
| College Guidance for Professional Practice, 5th edition | Draft; final due winter 2026 | New section on AI and new technologies |
| Joint regulator statements, Feb and Sept 2026 | Commitments | AI in education; future joint principles |
The College of Optometrists' interim position was published as a shared sector position. Its consultation draft of the next Guidance for Professional Practice adds expectations on clinical accountability, data governance, transparency with patients and AI literacy, plus a professional duty of candour for all registrants. The MHRA regulates AI medical devices, and the GOC also signed the 17 September 2026 Joint Statement of Intent on AI. Full detail is in the regulator guide below.
The main risks for optical practices are:
GOC Standard 12.2 requires registrants to have adequate professional indemnity insurance and to work only in practices with adequate public liability insurance. Guidance under it expects continuous cover (12.2.3) and run-off cover for complaints received after practice ends (12.2.4). The standards set no minimum limit.
Neither the GOC nor the College has published a statement on AI and indemnity. Eyewire reported in July 2026 that the College's new AI section will address who is accountable for clinical decisions when AI tools are used. In practice, a negligence claim arising from an AI-assisted finding is usually treated as a claim about the registrant's professional judgement, and policies may respond on that basis, subject to their terms. Gaps tend to arise between individual cover, an employer's or chain's policy and the supplier's contract, especially for locums using a chain's tools. Our PI guide for optometrists and opticians covers the basics and the guide to PI and AI mistakes explains the wider position.
Practical first steps include:
Each guide below covers one task or issue in more depth:
Apex arranges professional indemnity for optometrists, dispensing opticians and optical businesses. A broker reviews your cover, how it treats AI-assisted findings and how individual and practice policies fit together, alongside our healthcare clinic insurance guide. See also the AI in medical practice hub and the dentistry AI hub.
Yes. The GOC has no AI-specific standard and does not prohibit AI. Its Standards of Practice require you to keep aware of digital technologies and to apply your own professional judgement to data they generate, so AI can inform decisions but not make them for you.
The registrant who relied on the output usually carries the professional responsibility, because Standard 7.8 requires judgement on technology-generated data. A supplier or employer may share legal liability depending on contracts and the facts, but that does not remove your own duty.
The GOC Standards of Practice require adequate professional indemnity insurance, continuous cover and run-off cover, but they do not set a minimum limit. What is adequate depends on your work, including enhanced services and any AI-assisted clinical decisions.
Not yet. The College published an interim sector position in June 2025. A new AI section in the fifth edition of its Guidance for Professional Practice went to consultation in summer 2026, with the final version due in winter 2026.
Tell us about your firm and the work you do. A broker will review how your current PI treats AI-assisted work, or arrange new cover. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information about how AI is used in the profession and how insurance may respond. It is not legal, regulatory or insurance advice on your circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
