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A Bengaluru Amazon executive used Claude AI to trace ancestral land plots in Uttar Pradesh, impressing the internet with a unique real-world AI use case
He used Anthropic’s Claude AI assistant to trace 25 plots of ancestral land in Uttar Pradesh (Image-LinkedIn/@Zahid Khan)
A Bengaluru-based Amazon executive has triggered widespread discussion online after sharing how he used Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude to trace and digitally map his ancestral land in rural Uttar Pradesh.
Zahid Khan, Director and General Manager (New Shopping Experiences) at Amazon Bengaluru, detailed the experience in a LinkedIn post that quickly gained attention from techies and social media users alike.
Khan explained that the land, located in Mohammadpur village in Uttar Pradesh, had been passed down through generations within his family, from his great-grandfather to his grandfather, then to his late father, and eventually to him.
Despite inheriting the property, Khan admitted he barely knew where the plots were situated because he had visited the village only a handful of times throughout his life.
Sharing his experience online, Khan wrote, “I used Claude Cowork to find my ancestral land in rural India!” He explained that while the land records were technically digitised, they were spread across multiple government portals and written in highly formal Hindi that was difficult to interpret.
“The kind of Hindi that makes legal documents feel like ancient scripture,” he remarked in the post.
According to Khan, recommendations from friends prompted him to experiment with Claude Cowork’s “computer use” feature. He said the AI assistant handled much of the process independently and helped him identify around 25 plots connected to his family.
Khan explained that the AI first searched official land records using his father’s name typed in Hindi through an onscreen keyboard. It then identified plots where his father appeared as an owner or co-owner and extracted Gata Sankhya (plot numbers) from government mapping portals.
The AI system reportedly went a step further by recognising that the mapping coordinates were displayed in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) format rather than standard latitude and longitude. Claude then converted the coordinates, generated a KML file containing all the land polygons, and uploaded it to Google My Maps to create a navigable map showing the exact plot boundaries.
The Amazon executive joked that the ambitious project eventually pushed him from Claude’s free subscription tier to the paid Pro and Max plans.
As the post gained traction online, several users reacted with fascination and humour.
“This is crazy and awesome. How much hand holding or course corrections did you have to do?” commented one user.
Another user wrote, “This is among the few real use cases I’ve come across for AI use which is super encouraging. This should be augmented as an agent into Govt. Registrar of Property website.”
“I need to do this for my ancestral land too! Will use these exact steps. Thanks for sharing!” another commenter said.
Some users also responded with jokes. “Rich man problem 😅 using Gen AI to find owned properties !” one person commented.
Another user quipped, “For ₹20k/month (claude max)someone in the village would’ve mapped the land, settled disputes, and arranged chai too 😄”
The post has since sparked broader conversations online about the practical applications of generative AI, especially in navigating India’s often complicated government record systems.
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