Is XMTP more like email or chat?

XMTP is a simple and un-opinionated protocol. This enables developers to implement messaging features and a UX paradigm that best fits their needs. Therefore, messages sent within XMTP may resemble many typical forms of communication such as email, chat, text messaging, push notifications, and more.

Will we be able to have real-time conversations on XMTP?

Real-time chat is a core use case for the protocol and is demonstrated by the intial example app.