Walmart announced in December 2025 that it will begin placing Eyebot automated vision testing kiosks in Walmart Vision Centers and Sam’s Club locations nationwide. These kiosks measure refractive error and generate eyeglass prescriptions without an in-person comprehensive eye exam.

While Eyebot claims to expand access to vision care, early pilot locations were placed in areas where doctors of optometry were already available, and recent rollouts have occurred in stores that previously offered in-person optometric care. This raises serious concerns that the technology is replacing, rather than expanding, access to comprehensive eye care.

Eyebot kiosks do not evaluate ocular health, screen for disease, assess binocular vision, or provide the clinical judgment that comes from direct patient-doctor interaction. This creates inevitable patient confusion and risks giving patients a false sense of security, potentially delaying diagnosis of serious and often asymptomatic eye diseases.

These concerns are not hypothetical. Prior Eyebot deployments have resulted in formal complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with additional complaints submitted to state enforcement officials by health advocacy groups.

As optometry students and future doctors, we have a responsibility to advocate for patient safety, transparency, and evidence-based care. Allowing automated kiosks to be presented as substitutes for comprehensive eye exams undermines public health, devalues our training, and threatens the integrity of our profession.

This petition calls on optometry students to stand united by signing in opposition to Eyebot kiosks being promoted as eye care solutions and to urge our institutions and leaders to prioritize patient safety over convenience and corporate interests.

👉 Add your name. Protect patients. Protect optometry.

(Please use your ICO email. Do NOT donate $, it is not necessary for our cause)