Has Jeeves picked a steady?

With what AP calls "a dramatic about-face," Ask.com is forfeiting all-purpose search to Google in favor a smaller market: married women in need of homemaking guidance.

Instead of competing for stronger search, Ask.com will help women address health, entertainment, children, recipes and hobbies.

Before its purchase by InterActive Corp., Ask.com sought to make itself the search engine of choice with its iconic "gentleman's gentleman," Jeeves. The site's premise was to let people pose natural questions whose answers could be sought across the web.

Likely because a "natural question" can be interpreted differently depending on who asks it, Ask Jeeves generally returned unsatisfactory search results.

So the site was restructured. And amidst rumors of the butler's ambiguous sexuality, Jeeves was later dropped in favor of an all-purpose, less potentially salacious brand image.

Charlene Li of Forrester stated Ask.com's newfound interest in married women would prove a "smart move," observing mothers dictate most household spending decisions.

"Everyone at Ask is excited about our clear focus and the trajectory-changing results it will deliver," gushed CEO Jim Safka.

In addition to its fresh perspective, Ask will lay off eight percent of its work force — or 40 employees — partially fulfilling a rumor that held Ask.com would stage a major lay-off … and possibly start using Google for search in lieu of Teoma.

According to Hitwise, Ask.com's search share went up 18 percent year over year.