NEWARK, N.J.—Healthcare practices, including optometry offices, are increasingly open to artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to improve operations, but new survey data suggest adoption remains in an early stage as concerns about privacy, quality and workflow integration continue to slow broader use. In a multidisciplinary survey of 285 healthcare practice owners, office managers and front desk staff across dental, specialty medical, optometry and veterinary practices conducted by Weave, 41 percent of respondents said they have already adopted some AI workflows or believe AI is transforming operations, while another 33 percent said they have considered AI tools but have not yet committed.
“Practitioners can name exactly what’s slowing them down, and it isn’t a mystery—it’s manual work moving between systems that don’t talk to each other,” said Marcus Bertilson, COO and head of product at Weave in an announcement related to the survey results. “Don’t mistake their caution about AI for reluctance. It’s a rational response to a market that hasn’t yet earned their trust with patient data. The opportunity belongs to whoever earns it.”
For optometry specifically, a recent Jobson Research survey of 195 optometrists found that AI is still not widely embedded within practices for disease detection workflows. When asked whether advanced technologies like AI play a role in disease detection in their practice, only 14.4 percent of those surveyed said yes, while 85.6 percent said no.
However, Jobson Research shows that optometrists may be ready for more advanced digital tools more broadly. Nearly 87 percent reported that their practices offer systemic disease detection through ocular manifestations during comprehensive exams, and 69.1 percent said scope of practice in their state will increase over the next five years. In open-ended responses, many respondents emphasized full-scope care, better access, and the need to use training more fully—themes that align with growing interest in tools that can help streamline care delivery.
In sharing its results, Weave noted that respondents’ top concern was HIPAA and data privacy, cited by 60 percent, followed by concern that AI could produce low-quality work at 51 percent and regulatory uncertainty at 35 percent. These findings suggest that practices are interested in AI, but trust remains a major hurdle.
That caution stands in contrast to the operational pressures many practices are facing, the survey shows. According to Weave, 80 percent of respondents said duplicate data entry affects workflow, 63 percent spend an hour or more each day on manual data entry, and 70 percent are not running an integrated software stack. The survey also found that 64 percent of practices experienced staffing shortages in the past year, with 48 percent still dealing with them. For 24 percent, those shortages were severe enough to reduce patient or appointment volume.
Within that environment, practices that have automated workflows are reporting benefits. Among respondents who automated in 2025, 61 percent said patient communications and responsiveness improved, 41 percent reported better team productivity and efficiency, and 39 percent said automation reduced no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
The broader message from both Jobson and Weave research demonstrates that AI has real potential in eyecare and healthcare practices, but adoption still depends heavily on whether vendors can address data privacy concerns, integrate into existing systems and show that AI improves rather than complicates clinical and administrative workflows.
An AI-powered patient engagement and payments platform for healthcare practices, Weave was founded in 2008 and recently announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be to be acquired by Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology companies and technology-enabled businesses.
