How AI Is Shaping the Future of Retail, Las Vegas and Its Strong Brand, and How Do You Help Your Kid Pick the Right College?

Scott discusses Perplexity’s new ‘Buy With Pro’ feature, specifically what it means for the future of the retail industry. He then speaks about Las Vegas and its singular brand positioning. He wraps up with advice to a parent who is struggling with his kid’s college decision. Music: https://www.davidcuttermusic.com / @dcuttermusic Subscribe to No Mercy / No Malice Buy "The Algebra of Wealth," out now. Follow the podcast across socials @profgpod: Instagram Threads X Reddit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 0:26Speaker 01

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• 0:54Speaker 02

  I'm not giving up. I am selling the building.

• 0:58Speaker 03

  The final season of FX is the bear.

• 1:02Speaker 04

  The restaurant is flooded.

• 1:05Speaker 05

  Everything's either gonna be okay.

• 1:08Speaker 04

  Or not.

• 1:10Speaker 05

  We are outgunned and we are outmanned. We have each other.

• 1:16Speaker 03

  FX is the bear. The final season. All episodes now streaming on Disney+.

• 1:22Scott Galloway?

  Welcome to the Prop G Pod's Office Hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business, tech, entrepreneurship, and whatever else is on your mind. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to [email protected]. Again, that's [email protected]. Just a little bit of background, a little bit of texture on the dog. I'm in Brazil, in Sao Paulo. I took an overnight here. I couldn't sleep this morning. I took a Xanax, which made me sleep very hard for about three and a half hours. And I have been podcasting for five and a half hours straight. I am so cooked right now. So with that, let's throw a bunch of meaningful, deep life lessons at me or questions. And I don't, this is either gonna go very well or very poorly. First question.

• 2:04Speaker 07

  Hi Prof G, I'm Sarah from New York. I run a startup in the retail marketing space and I'm super curious to hear your thoughts on perplexity's new Buy With Pro feature. What does this mean for the retail industry? Thanks.

• 2:18Scott Galloway?

  We had to come in hot with a hard question. Buy With Pro is a way to shop online with AI. The platform now allows its paid users to search, compare, and buy products all in one place. It's a chat-based assistant that includes visual search, similar to Google Lens. So, okay, a couple of things here. I say this a lot. The biggest mistake we've made in marketing is that consumers don't want choice. They want fewer choices presented but want to be more confident in those choices served up to them. That's the whole basis of specialty retail. Not 32 toasters at Walmart, the right two from Liam Snow, but from a woman who has better taste in kitchen electronics than you do. Perplexity isn't alone here. Google, Amazon, eBay, and Klarna are all getting into the AI shopping game. How could this affect the industry?

• 3:00Scott Galloway?

  It's already challenging traditional affiliate marketing models. Platforms, including perplexity, are partnering with publishers to share ad revenue, but it's unclear how much these relationships will shift the balance of power. So alongside the launch of these tools, I think perplexity is rolling out a merchant program, and that is retailers who enroll have a better chance of being featured in recommendations and get free API access to power search on their own sites. When asked if perplexity makes any money from sales through the Buy With Pro button, spokesperson there said, "Not at the moment, but I think if they create enough traffic and attention, they will be able to monetize it." Look, I like this, and we're talking about the balance of power. The balance of power

• 3:43Scott Galloway?

  is just shifting from the analog or from capital to IP. What do I mean by that? You don't want to manufacture cars. You want to create a layer of software on top of them to sell them. You don't want to be in the business of fast fashion. You want to be in the business, that's Airbnb. You want to be in the business of having software that observes the traffic on your site and then sends out orders to whatever factory can do this most elegantly, and then put in place a transportation system. You don't want to own any assets. And this, to me, feels like, again, more assets and shareholder value are transferring from the people who own stores, the people who insert themselves in between them. If I could invest in any AI property right now, hint, hint, CEO, please call me. I'd like to invest. It would be perplexity because I like the positioning.

• 4:27Scott Galloway?

  I like perplexity. This is whether this application works or not. It's already worked because we're talking about it. It signals innovation. Yet another person getting in between the consumer and the retailer. And if they build enough traffic, this is a model overspend. No one can compete with you. You know, don't charge anything, start getting big traffic. And then slowly but surely, once you have 1, 10, 50% of traffic, start implementing, you know, real fees and onerous fees. Anyways, thanks for the question. Question number two.

• 4:57Speaker 08

  Hi, Scott. This is Noah in Nevada. As a branding expert and visitor, do you think any city or product has marketed itself as effectively as Vegas? Turning a hot, gray, isolated desert crossroads into the global hub of entertainment, opulence and networking appears to be a contender for number one masterclass in branding. How do you see Las Vegas adapting and faring over the next decade or so? Thank you for consideration and enjoy your time in the desert.

• 5:29Scott Galloway?

  No, that's such an interesting point. Hands down, best managed brand in municipal cities or in metros or whatever the term is for a city. Hands down, what is brand? Brand means differentiation, right? You got 10 brands of cereal, which one do you pull off the shelf? You got 10 super cities. Actually, 2/3 of all economic growth is going to take place in about 25 super cities. I don't think Las Vegas qualifies as a super city. But I think LA is a little bit like Sydney. I think that New York is a little bit like London. They're kind of analogs to almost every city. I would argue that Orange County or Southern California is a little bit like Cape Town. Cape Town's on my brain because I'm going there later in the month. It reminds me of what I think California was like in the 60s. There's always sort of an analog, except for Vegas.

• 6:14Scott Galloway?

  Vegas is singular. In addition, the brand positioning of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I just think it's fucking genius. I know this firsthand. I was in Vegas 15 hours ago. And what am I doing in Vegas? I'm gambling, I'm yelling when I get blackjack, I'm getting way too fucked up. And it's okay. I thought about going to a strip club last night. I haven't been to a strip club in 10 years. That's just not my, not my vibe, but it felt natural. It felt like, oh, wait, we just gambled. We made some money. We're fucked up. Oh, we should definitely go to a strip club. No, I shouldn't. Why on earth would I go to a strip club? But you have license to just go kind of just to just sin a little bit and it's legal, but you would never do,

• 6:57Scott Galloway?

  I would never go to a strip club in any city I live in. By the way, general rule, general decent rules for life. Don't go to strip clubs or eat fast food in the cities you live in. I do eat fast food, but only when I'm traveling and I'm trying to screen that out of my life because I'm getting older and that's just shitty food. Anyways, the branding around Vegas is singular. These people are very smart and it's amazing how it survived. And granted, it's down a little bit from post COVID because gambling is so ubiquitous now, but they have done an amazing job. So a singular brand, high margin revenue because it taps into an addiction and the result is just an incredible offering. By the way, let's talk a little bit about Vegas hotels. I used to get 40 bucks from Ready Teller when I was in college and we get ridiculously stoned and then

• 7:39Scott Galloway?

  go, I know, let's go to Vegas. And I get in my friend's red Jetta. Of course, he did not drink and drive. We'd go to Vegas for the night. Golden Nugget, Steven Wynn, 9.99 best buffet. So we'd have 30 bucks. I'd play blackjack at a $1 table. Boom. I remember because I used to wear my mom's boyfriend's cardigan because he was rich and had good taste and he gave me a cardigan that I always used to wear. And then I upgraded to the Tropicana with the toucans, with those birds. 19 bucks a night. And then I got really fucking crazy and started going to the, oh my God, what was the one with the tigers? Treasure Island? No, wait, I don't know. And then when I started to make some money, hello ladies. And I started going to the Rio. The, remember the Rio Hotel? The hook, I love, I love what cab drivers say. I would say, I'm going to the

• 8:24Scott Galloway?

  Rio and they'd go, the Rio where it's hooker friendly. Anyways, loved the Rio for a while, then I was at the Palms for like a hot minute. And then when I started making some money, I started staying at the Cosmo. Stayed at the Bellagio, too high end for me. Felt like I was in a Frank Sinatra film and was waiting for the ass cancer from all the meat. I'm partying with Angie Dickinson later tonight. By the way, did I tell you I did Xanax last night? Anyways, so then when I started making real money, I went to the Cosmo. If you're older and have some money and you want to hang out with younger people, really interesting concept, take the coolest brands, beauty and Essex, Milos, license it, bring it there. Then I went to the Aria, newer, higher end, kind of like a Lexus sort of feel, more modern. It was a fucking disaster for the developers, but they finished it. It was nice.

• 9:05Scott Galloway?

  And now, now I stay at the Wynn because even though it's a bunch of rich people from Texas and not my vibe, I just like good service and they do the best job. The Wynn and the Encore, in my impression, are hands down the best casinos. There you go. There's a story of my hotels in Vegas, but see above, a singular city resulting in unearned margin. Thanks for the question.

• 9:27Scott Galloway?

  We have one quick break before our final question. Stay with us.

• 9:34Scott Galloway?

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• 10:19Scott Galloway?

  Find out why Nutraful is the best selling hair growth supplement brand at nutraful.com, spelled N-U-T-R-A-F-O-L dot com, promo code PROP G. That's nutraful.com promo code PROP G.

• 10:37Scott Galloway?

  Support for the show comes from Vanta. As AI adoption grows, so does your company's security risks and requirements. New frameworks, audits, and vendors keep piling on, but your team isn't getting any bigger. Most compliance tools promise automation, but you're really stuck doing all the work by hand, chasing screenshots, validating controls, and playing catch-up when audit season comes around again. Vanta works differently. The regentech trust platform is built to scale with you, not slow you down. With over 1,400 automated tests across 400-plus integrations, Vanta collects evidence and monitors your controls year-round, cutting your audit prep by 82%. Plus, you can access the Vanta agent everywhere you work, whether your team is in Vanta every day or living in tools including Claude or Cursor. Want proof?

• 11:22Scott Galloway?

  Over 16,000 fast-growing companies like Ramp, Ryder, and Harvey save time and resources while scaling fast with Vanta. Learn more at vanta.com/profg and get $1,000 off. That's spelled V-A-N-T-A dot com slash profg for $1,000 off. Support for the show comes from Vanta. As AI adoption grows, so does your company's security risks and requirements. New frameworks, audits, and vendors keep piling on, but your team isn't getting any bigger. Most compliance tools promise automation, but you're really stuck doing all the work by hand, chasing screenshots, validating controls, and playing catch-up when audit season comes around again. Vanta works differently.

• 12:06Scott Galloway?

  The regentech trust platform is built to scale with you, not slow you down. With over 1,400 automated tests across 400-plus integrations, Vanta collects evidence and monitors your controls year-round, cutting your audit prep by 82%. Plus, you can access the Vanta agent everywhere you work, whether your team is in Vanta every day or living in tools including Claude or Cursor. Want proof? Over 16,000 fast-growing companies like Ramp, Ryder, and Harvey save time and resources while scaling fast with Vanta. Learn more at vanta.com/profg and get $1,000 off. That's spelled V-A-N-T-A dot com slash profg for $1,000 off.

• 12:52Scott Galloway?

  Welcome back. Question number three.

• 12:54Speaker 10

  Hi Prof G. I'd appreciate some parenting advice. I have an ambitious high school senior who has been accepted to a high-status university, Michigan, and a lower-status university, Montana State. He plans to double-major in mathematics and computer science. My son fell in love with the lower-status campus and its outdoor recreation, skiing, fishing, mountain biking, all of which he loves. My instinct screams, "Take the higher-status option," but compelling him away from his first choice runs the risk of resentment, burnout, or dropout.

• 13:27Scott Galloway?

  Look, I hate this bullshit of, "Just where he's gonna go where he's gonna be happy." This is the bottom line. College is just fucking amazing, alright? He's gonna have four amazing years. And there's just no getting around it. We tell ourselves this myth that it doesn't matter where you go to school, as long as you get a good education. It's not true. We have a caste system in our society. In Europe, it's your family name. In the US, it's the college you went to. And then the first few firms you work for, your economic trajectory in your twenties largely sets the economic trajectory for the rest of your life. And the thing that sets your economic trajectory right out at 22 is the university you went to. The big name-brand state school you're talking about is just gonna offer more

• 14:08Scott Galloway?

  opportunity. There's very few brands that stick with you the rest of your life and say something about you. And unfortunately, that's your university. My son, I had a similar situation with my son. My son applied to a bunch of boarding schools in the UK. One was lesser prestigious. He got in, and he got into another one that was kind of like iconic. And I think he was a bit intimidated by the iconic one. And we said, "Look, you have agency here. What do you want to do?" And he said, "I want to go to the kind of the second tier, but good one." And I took him on a long walk. And this is what I said to him. I said, You know I'm smart, right? I literally said that. And he's like, yeah. And I said, and you know, I love you, right? Yeah. And I'm like, I, I want to make really good. I want to help you make really good decisions.

• 14:53Scott Galloway?

  And I want you to trust me on this one. I think you'd be better off here. I think this will set you up for a better education and more opportunities. And I was really lucky. He was silent for a second and he said, okay. Uh, and I don't know if you have that kind of relationship with your son, but I want to be clear. I think you're more doors. I just talked to a kid who got into a mediocre university where he could play basketball and to MIT where he wasn't going to play basketball. And he chose the mediocre school. And my advice was, dude, go to MIT and buy a fucking basketball team in 20 years. Would you like to own a basketball team someday? I'm like, you're not going to be an NBA player. There's just no getting around it. Your son would be better in terms of prospects. I mean, if he hates it and he's going to be depressed, fine.

• 15:38Scott Galloway?

  But the school you're talking about is an amazing school. He's going to have a great time. Fraternities, sororities, football games. So I hate to say this, but I would just happen and say, look, boss, I love you. I'm smart. Can you, can you defer to me on this? Can you trust me on this? And if you don't like it, you can easily transfer from this school to this one. You know, on this one, can I cash in some chips? Let me finish with the following. You and your partner have clearly done a great job. This is what you call a great problem. If your son is into both these schools, it means you have, you have raised a thoughtful, disciplined young man. And at the end of the day, that's the headline news. Well done.

• 16:20Scott Galloway?

  That's all for this episode. If you'd like to submit a question, please email a voice recording to [email protected]. Again, that's [email protected].

• 16:38Scott Galloway?

  This episode was produced by Jennifer Sanchez and Caroline Shageran. Ju Burrows is our technical director. Thank you for listening to the Prop G Pod from the Vox Media Podcast Network. We will catch you on Saturday for No Mercy No Malice, as read by George Hahn. And please follow our Prop G Markets Pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes every Monday and Thursday.

• 16:58Speaker 11

  This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai/spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai/spotify.

• 17:26Speaker 02

  I'm not giving up. I am selling the building.

• 17:31Speaker 03

  The final season of FX's The Bear.

• 17:34Speaker 04

  The restaurant is flooded.

• 17:37Speaker 05

  Everything's either gonna be okay. No.

• 17:41Speaker 04

  Or not.

• 17:43Speaker 05

  We are outgunned and we are outmanned. But we have each other.

• 17:48Speaker 03

  FX's The Bear, the final season. All episodes now streaming on Disney+.