By 2030, shipments of smart glasses are expected to jump to 32 million units from around 850,000 units in 2024. The increase is driven largely by consumer adoption of lightweight frames designed for everyday wear that integrate connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI) and audio.
The growing interest in wearable technology is redefining how employees manage their health and reshaping what they expect from their benefits. Eyewear innovations offer one of the most rapidly evolving examples.
"In the last 12 to 18 months, brokers and employers are seeing the shift in real time, fielding increasing questions about how smart frames are covered by vision benefits," said Jason Rome, chief commercial officer at EyeMed. "It's employee-driven demand that's here to stay, fueled by where the market is going."
The changing environment creates timely opportunities for benefits advisors to help clients understand the business case for adapting vision benefits and making emerging technology more accessible. Continuing innovation, like hearing-enabled frames, will also further integrate vision benefits with whole-person health.
The business case for benefits alignment
As employee interest in smart glasses grows, so do expectations for vision benefits. Vision plans that help offset the higher cost of advanced frames make adoption more attainable, removing barriers to care that might otherwise prevent employees from accessing technology that supports quality of life and work.
For employers, aligning vision benefits with the technology supports whole-person well-being, signals a future-ready organization and provides a competitive edge in attracting and retaining a tech-forward workforce.
"Another benefit for companies is that access to smart glasses helps employees become more comfortable with AI technology, helping to fuel productivity and innovation," Rome said. "We're starting to see businesses think about how they can use AI glasses to make their operations more efficient."
A tiered approach to frame allowances
The biggest barrier to tech-enabled frames is often the price point. While traditional vision plans provide a frame allowance that employees can apply toward smart glasses, Rome says forward-thinking advisors and employers are adding a tiered approach to frame allowances.
Tiered options help extend existing allowances and pre-tax benefits to cover emerging frame categories, making advanced eyewear more accessible across a broad range of employees.
"The concept isn't new — we've long used lens tiers to help manage member out-of-pocket costs," Rome explained. "Now, we're taking the same approach to frames, creating tiers that include higher allowances specifically for AI smart glasses and hearing frames, so employees can access these products without facing prohibitive out-of-pocket costs."
The next wave: hearing and clinical integration
As smart glasses continue to evolve, the next wave of capabilities will move beyond lifestyle enhancements to include deeper clinical integrations, connectivity and a broader understanding of overall health.
Up next is more mainstream access to the first FDA-approved hearing-enabled frames. These frames remove the stigma sometimes associated with wearing traditional hearing aids, providing a discreet solution for the 15% of U.S. adults who report mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
"Addressing hearing loss has implications for overall health and quality of life, as well as workplace engagement and performance," Rome said. "We're at the beginning of what smart glasses can do. Looking ahead, we'll see even more clinical integration across whole-person health, such as the ability to monitor the retina for critical health indicators without the need for invasive procedures."
As wearable tech becomes part of everyday work and life, vision plans that support smart and hearing-enabled frames can meet rising employee expectations, reduce cost barriers to adoption and strengthen whole-person health today — while laying the foundation for future clinical integrations.
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