I think that this is a great move for a company that is trying to "re-legitimize" (if that is a word) itself.  I have some experience in working with paid inclusion.  I must admit that paid inclusion always felt a bit dirty to me.  Not because I think that it is wrong.  It's a bargained for exchange with good results.  But, I felt dirty because I always felt like they were hiding the ball, intentionally and knowingly.  The average searcher didn't even know that this was going on.  So, getting rid of this, in my view, adds to their legitimacy. 

Hopefully, as they indicated, they are interested in improving their search results.  Kudos.  Good move.  They are 2-3 years behind Google.  Maybe more.