AI Search
This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 11, 2026 – May 17, 2026
Kuala Lumpur-based digital marketing agency Pandan Social has developed an in-house artificial intelligence (AI) tool that it says can cut content production costs by up to fivefold and halve turnaround times as it pushes into market segments it previously could not serve.
Pandan Social, acquired by global communications consultancy Ruder Finn Group in 2023, developed PandAI after concluding that off-the-shelf AI tools could not meet the precision demands of client work. The tool operates as an internal system used by the agency’s creative team and is not available directly to clients.
Co-founder Daniel Woodroof says the investment — about RM1 million split between the agency and development partners — has gone into platform engineering, multi-model AI integration, UI/UX design, cloud infrastructure and beta testing.
“Photography services can already cost thousands for a handful of images. After that, agency services for developing a static image can range from RM500 to RM1,500. With PandAI, we can rely on a simple iPhone image to export content into a variety of visual contexts, and generate 10 to 15 outputs for a few thousand ringgit,” says Woodroof.
The decision to build PandAI was driven partly by a structural constraint: The agency could not take on every client that approached it. With 30 staff and more than 30 active clients — including GXBank, Thermomix Malaysia and Singapore, and Chinese automotive brands Omoda and Jaecoo Malaysia — Pandan Social has been selective by design, limiting intake to avoid overextending its team.
“To service one client, I would need a team lead, an account manager, a copywriter, a graphic designer, and two content producers — that’s six or seven people in total. Now, I need just one account manager with PandAI,” says Woodroof.
PandAI produces static assets, cinematic visuals and advertising content deployable across Facebook, Instagram, Lazada, Shopee, Amazon, YouTube and TikTok. One problem it was built to solve is the inability of existing AI image generators to make small, isolated edits without regenerating an entire image.
“With many AI generators, if you want to tweak something small, like changing a background colour or shirt logo, the entire image changes. PandAI preserves everything else, so we can make exact revisions,” says Woodroof.
The agency has not built its own underlying models. PandAI integrates with third-party AI platforms that allow the tool to benefit from external improvements over time.
Between 2023 and 2024, Pandan Social recorded an 86% increase in revenue and a 207% rise in profit before tax, with its client base growing 32%. Woodroof declined to disclose absolute figures.
The agency expects a 50% profit margin on PandAI-related services. “The cost of ‘creation’ via PandAI is lower, but we still maintain our cost of customer service,” says Woodroof.
Since word of PandAI started circulating in October 2024, the agency says it has been approached by agencies in Malaysia and marketing firms from Indonesia.
“If you look at a market like Indonesia, there are thousands of agencies that are cheaper than anyone else, and when you’re in markets where there is sometimes a race to the bottom, tools like this definitely become a lot more appealing, especially given how high-quality the output is,” says Woodroof.
Despite the investment, Woodroof is candid about PandAI’s potential obsolescence. “I’m not naive enough to think PandAI could even be relevant beyond the next 12 months. For us, it’s about being able to deploy it, move fast and continually pivot. That’s been our ethos since day one,” he says.
Woodroof co-founded Pandan Social in 2018 with longtime friend Brandon Lee and RM6,000 in starting capital, following an earlier career as a competitive Formula 3 driver. Early growth came from the agency’s own TikTok presence at a time when few Malaysian brands were active on the platform.
“That led to a number of viral content pieces that had my team members being recognised in airports and supermarkets. It became our single-largest driver of sales leads,” says Woodroof.
Ruder Finn’s acquisition in 2023 provided capital and international infrastructure to support expansion, including investment for PandAI. The agency says it has no plans for an external listing.
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