From my perspective the puzzles haven't changed as you describe. They've always been this way with regard to 'intent'. Like, "What are you trying to teach me here?" I'll complete a mate in two only to find I'm wrong. The 'correct' answer was mate in three. Or, the intent was not mate at all but a 5 or 6 move bloodbath where you are left with one more piece than the opponent. Would it kill them to give some kind of hint as to the intent of the puzzle?
I have noticed that the chess puzzles have changed from trying to checkmate the opposing color's king to other things like blocking a checkmate on Your side or maybe capturing certain pieces or just making good moves in general it seems. Checkmating is definitely still there but it seems like you are trying to checkmate but you're actually on a puzzle that wants you to protect your king or maybe set up to snipe a certain rook.
That said, the only solution I can see is to tell one what the Theme is when a puzzle starts.
So, there is my perceived problem and solution. Has anyone one else on this forum noticed a change to the puzzles?